Kuwait's foreign minister arrives in Pakistan for bilateral talks

Set to discuss bilateral ties and exchange views on regional and international issues

Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday on a two-day official visit to hold bilateral talks.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Sheikh Jarrah arrived in Islamabad at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

Upon his arrival at Islamabad International Airport, the Kuwaiti foreign minister was received by Zahid Hussain, Additional Secretary for the Middle East at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“During the visit, the two sides will hold talks covering the full spectrum of bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest,” the statement said.

H.E. Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait, arrived in Islamabad today on an official visit at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50.

Upon arrival at Islamabad… pic.twitter.com/7sOY6qtx22

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) July 28, 2026

The Foreign Office said the visit reflected the longstanding brotherly relations between Pakistan and Kuwait, anchored in shared history, mutual trust and close cooperation.

The visit comes as Pakistan is negotiating an expanded defence pact with Kuwait in exchange for energy cooperation and investment.

The talks, however, remain at an early stage and could still be complicated by heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, according to five sources familiar with the discussions.

Kuwait has had a limited defence agreement with Pakistan covering training and joint exercises since 2023. It is now seeking a broader arrangement similar to Pakistan's defence pact with Saudi Arabia, including "thousands of Pakistani troops on the ground, fighter jets, drones, an air defence system, and other defence-related facilities", a Pakistani government official said.

It remains unclear whether Pakistan is willing to go that far, given that its agreement with Saudi Arabia was the result of a decades-old close alliance with Riyadh.

Notably, the visit comes at a critical juncture as renewed attacks by Iran on Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have heightened regional tensions.

Earlier, Kuwait came under sustained attack, with the armed forces saying they had intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, and that several firefighters and oil sector workers had been injured while responding to the attacks.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had struck a US military support centre at Kuwait's Camp Arifjan and destroyed a radar facility at Ali Al Salem Air Base. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation later said one of its oil facilities had been hit in "repeated Iranian attacks", causing significant damage and some injuries, according to the state news agency.