UNIPATH STAFF
Kuwait commandos traveled to Turkey for a 10-day military exercise with a Turkish Special Operations unit in July 2021. The Kuwait 25th Commando Brigade, commanded by Col. Nasser Masoud Al Otaibi, sought to improve combat interoperability between the two countries.
“The execution of this exercise comes as a continuation of joint military coordination to achieve more harmony, exchange experiences and unify efforts,” the Kuwait Army’s Moral Guidance Department announced.
The Kuwait 25th Commando Brigade previously trained with Turkish forces in 2015. The nucleus of what would be the brigade was founded in 1960 by Brig. Gen. Mubarak Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, then deputy commander of the Kuwait Army.
It has grown to become Kuwait’s leading special forces unit and serves under the chief of staff of the Kuwait Armed Forces, carrying out missions in support of general operations of the Kuwait military.
Meanwhile, Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Shantoub visited Kuwait and met with Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim and other Kuwaiti leaders to promote bilateral relations.
“As parliamentarians of the two countries, we are pleased to take a close position in the international parliamentary organizations of which we are members and to work together to address issues of concern to our region,” Shantoub said. “We and Kuwait have close historical relations, and the job of statesmen is to strengthen the cordial ties between the peoples of the two countries.”
Turkish-Kuwaiti relations have witnessed significant growth in recent years, as the two countries signed several economic, military and security agreements. To follow up on such agreements, the governments of the two countries established a joint committee in 2018. The total value of projects implemented by Turkish contractors in Kuwait is estimated at over $8 billion, the largest of which is $4.3 billion to build a new passenger terminal at Kuwait International Airport.