Humanitarian assistance and crisis response have been important pillars of the foreign policies of Arabian Gulf nations. In light of recent conflicts in the region, the world will continue to call upon the generosity of these countries to relieve suffering beyond their borders. Arabian Gulf countries’ magnanimity isn’t limited to friendly nations. For example, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates donated 95 metric tons of food to Iranian victims of floods in the spring of 2019. Financial support from Gulf nations also supported Iranians victimized by an earthquake in 2003. Although the extent of this generosity is too much…
Unipath
The Arabian Gulf region boasts abundant wealth and a strategic location linking East and West via vital global shipping lanes. However, successive conflicts within the region have caused instability that harms the wider region with repercussions for the global economy, food production and energy security. The presence of terrorist strongholds in remote areas directly threatens regional security. The Syrian civil war — which spilled into Lebanon and Iraq, inflicting immense suffering on people of the region — served as a prime example of this. Despite these problems, the nations of the Arabian Gulf possess prudent governments and vast financial resources…
The complex threats confronting the Middle East and South and Central Asia — including state-sponsored terrorist organizations, attacks on strategic waterways, and the use of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial systems by adversaries — demand a flexible mindset from the United States and its partners. At a time when U.S. service members and many partners have come under fire from hundreds of unmanned aerial systems, rockets and missiles, U.S. Central Command, in cooperation with our partners, continues to seek advantages on the battlefield through innovation. Innovation is not optional. It is critical to our success. Over the past two years,…
In pursuit of deeper strategic cooperation with the United States, the presidents of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan attended their first summit with a U.S. president in November 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump hosted the heads of state at the White House in Washington, D.C., where improved security partnerships, business investment and trade represented critical topics of discussion. The historic engagement was part of the C5+1 process established in 2015. “Today’s summit shows that the United States of America sees Central Asia as a key partner. Together we can develop a future based on trust,” Uzbek President…
Fifth-generation warfare is among the most complex because it involves the simultaneous use of unconventional and conventional threats. When used by an aggressor, it diverts the capabilities and resources of the targeted country with the aim of weakening defenses and sowing confusion. This type of attack cannot be repulsed by a single country, regardless of its combat capabilities and strategic reserves. The Ferocious Falcon 6 exercise, hosted by Qatar in November 2025, demonstrated the benefits of countries training as partners to fortify themselves against this form of aggression. Ferocious Falcon brought together the Qatari Armed Forces and their counterparts from…
Kuwait hosted two joint military exercises simultaneously in December 2025. The first was Exercise Sky Shield 2025, a weeklong event involving the Kuwaiti Air Defense Force, the Bahraini Air and Missile Defense Force, and forces from the United States and the United Kingdom. The other was Joint Gulf Naval Exercise Union 2025 (or Ittihad), with the participation of naval forces from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. The exercises are part of the Kuwaiti military’s regular training with partner nations to enhance performance, combat readiness and operational interoperability, and to unify military concepts and strengthen defense cooperation to address emerging…
Qatari military pilots will train on F-15 fighter jets in the United States as part of a cooperative training plan between the two countries. Demonstrating the U.S.’s commitment to partner with Qatar, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced in October 2025 that Qatari flyers would use the Mountain Home Air Force Base in the state of Idaho, a location already used by military pilots from Singapore. While signing the agreement with Hegseth, Qatari Minister of Defense Affairs His Highness Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani praised the “enduring partnership” between the two countries, which includes the U.S. lease of…
Security challenges emanating from Afghanistan have led to the creation by Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan of the Central Asian Afghanistan Contact Group. The group will allow Central Asian nations to speak with one voice on issues of border security, counterterrorism, drug trafficking and other security challenges attributable to their proximity to Afghanistan. Special representatives from the four countries formed the regional diplomatic mechanism at a meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in August 2025. The region has shown signs of increased terrorist activity from groups such as ISIS-Khorasan. For example, Tajikistan attributed attacks along its border region, which led…
The Kyrgyz Republic has launched a campaign for its first seat on the United Nations Security Council at U.N. Headquarters in New York. To further his country’s bid for a nonpermanent seat on the council during the 2027-2028 term, Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev laid out his country’s priorities: conflict prevention, sustainable development for landlocked and mountainous nations, nuclear disarmament and support for U.N. reform. The Kyrgyz bid has received unanimous endorsement from its four Central Asian neighbors: Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Ulugbek Lapasov, Uzbekistan’s permanent representative to the U.N., called on member states to support the Kyrgyz Republic’s candidacy.…
To strengthen partnerships and military cooperation between friendly countries in the Mediterranean Sea region, Egypt hosted the joint combined exercise Medusa 14 in November 2025. The three-day exercise involving ground, naval, air and special forces took place on the sea and at Mohamed Naguib Military Base and several air bases in Egypt. Troops came from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, France and Greece. Observers came from countries such as Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United States. Attendees included Gen. Abdel-Magid Saqr, Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces and Minister of Defense and Military Production; Lt. Gen. Ahmed Khalifa, Chief of Staff…