Kuwait and Pakistan on Thursday signed a defence and military co-operation deal in the latest move to reshape regional alliances in the shadow of the Iran war.
The agreement was announced during a visit by Kuwaiti Defence Minister Sheikh Abdullah Al Sabah to Islamabad.
The minister met Pakistan's Defence Minister Muhammad Asif and discussed expanding military co-operation, as well as regional security and stability issues, the Kuwaiti army said.
The deal is a “significant step in defence and military co-operation between the two countries”, said the statement. It will involve co-ordination, exchange of expertise and increasing integration of the armed forces, it said.
The agreement signals closer defence ties between Kuwait and Pakistan, at a time when both are heavily involved in the Iran war.
Pakistan has acted as a mediator between the US and Iran, with its powerful military at the forefront of the negotiations. Kuwait, like other Gulf countries, has faced severe security challenges this year amid attacks by Iran and alleged domestic plots in sympathy with the Iranian regime.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey announced a deal known as the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement early this month, which stipulates that an attack on one state is an attack on all.
Kuwait has confronted attacks from Iran and its factions in Iraq on and off for six months, while also foiling terrorist plots linked to cells affiliated with Hezbollah, the pro-Iran group in Lebanon, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
It also faces domestic security threats. This month, Kuwait's Interior Ministry announced it had foiled a terrorist plot against a vital facility in the country and arrested a Kuwaiti citizen affiliated with ISIS before he could carry out any nefarious action.
Domestically, the country this week said it had carried out the largest drugs seizure in its history, intercepting nearly $500 million worth of a medicine that has become a popular party drug.
Like many Middle East countries, Kuwait is also battling to stamp out the trade in Captagon. In February, Kuwaiti authorities seized more than 300,000 Captagon pills in a joint operation with neighbouring Iraq.
