Kuwait–Pakistan relations

Pakistan-Kuwait relations

Pakistan	Kuwait

Kuwait–Pakistan relations refer to bilateral relations between Kuwait and Pakistan. Pakistan has an embassy in Kuwait City and Kuwait has an embassy in Islamabad and a consulate in Karachi. Kuwait and Pakistan are members of OIC.

Commercial, economic and cultural ties

Pakistani forces took active part in the liberation of Kuwait along with coalition forces in 1991. After the end of the first Gulf War in 1991 Pakistani army engineers were involved in a programme of mine clearance in the country. The present level of Kuwaiti exports to Pakistan is $750 million. Pakistani exports to Kuwait are just $50 million. Kuwait and Pakistan have decided to expand their mutual trade to $1.0 billion annually in the next two to three years.

Expatriate communities

The number of Pakistanis living in Kuwait is estimated to be around 100,000.

Aid to Pakistan

Kuwait was also the first country to send aid to isolated mountain villages in Kashmir after the quake of 2005, also offering the largest amount of aid in the aftermath of the quake ($100m).

In response to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, the Kuwaiti government pledged Pakistan US$100 million. Moreover, in the aftermath of the 2010 Pakistan floods, the Kuwaiti government lifted a long standing ban on collecting donations in public.

Visa Ban

In 2011 Kuwait suspended the granting of visas to citizens from five countries, including Pakistan, for any purposes. The suspension was due to the "difficult security conditions in the five countries".

See Also

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kuwait)
• Pakistanis in Kuwait