His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

KUWAIT CITY, July 12: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, accompanied by an official delegation, is set to leave for France on Sunday on an official visit. Meanwhile, Kuwaiti Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Yahya said Saturday that the visit of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to France would reflect the depth of the historical relations between the two countries. In a statement to KUNA, Al-Yahya said that Kuwaiti-French relations span more than six decades of constructive cooperation and political understanding, noting that His Highness the Amir’s visit represents an important milestone in strengthening the strategic partnership.

He added that the visit program includes high-level meetings with senior French officials, in addition to the signing of several agreements and memoranda of understanding in various fields, including infrastructure, education, defense, and culture. He explained that the visit would open new horizons for political, economic, and investment cooperation in line with the priorities of the National Development Plan (New Kuwait 2035).

Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya

Al-Yahya described France as Kuwait’s reliable international partner, appreciating France’s supportive stances on its security and stability. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is scheduled to begin an official visit to France on Sunday. The Kuwaiti-French relations date back to August 28, 1961, when Paris assigned its Beirut ambassador as envoy to Kuwait and established commercial representation in the Gulf State before establishing the diplomatic ties with Kuwait in 1967. In the cultural field, the two sides signed a cooperation agreement in 1969, which contributed to sending Kuwaiti students to leading French universities and supporting training programs, graduate studies, and joint research.

The year 2015 saw the signing of eight agreements covering culture, education, and the social sciences, most notably the establishment of the French Center for Archeology and Social Sciences in Kuwait. Their bilateral cooperation continued with the signing of three important agreements during the visit of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to Kuwait in April 2025. These agreements included a declaration of intent for cooperation in the field of energy, a memorandum of understanding on energy efficiency and energy transition, and an agreement to exchange classified information in the defense field. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is scheduled to begin an official visit to the friendly Republic of France on Sunday. It is His Highness the Amir’s first such visit to the European nation and comes to mark the leaders of the two countries’ keenness on cementing and developing these ties at various levels.

The French-Kuwaiti relations date back to August 28, 1961, when Paris assigned its Beirut ambassador as envoy to Kuwait and established commercial representation in the Gulf State before establishing diplomatic ties with Kuwait in 1967. These relations, over the past seven decades, developed in all fields, culminating with Paris’ stand of support for Kuwait in 1990 when the late president Francois Mitterrand declared, on August 26, 1990, that the sovereignty of Kuwait is nonnegotiable and dispatched some 18,000 troops to the region to partake in liberating the country. Senior leaders and officials of the two countries, since establishing the relations, have reciprocated visits.

The late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah had visited France several times, lastly in September 1989, when he held talks with the officials in Paris on promoting the bilateral relations in diverse sectors. The late Amir Sheikh Jaber had later visited France in October 1990, during the flagrant Iraqi occupation of the country, and in October 1991 to express gratitude and appreciation of the French support for the just Kuwaiti cause. He had also gone to France in November 2006 where he met with President Jacques Chirac and senior officials, discussing means of cementing the bilateral relations and issues of common interest. In January 2017, the (ex) first deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, took part in the international conference for peace in the Middle East, held in Paris.

On April 24, French Foreign Minister Jean- Noel Barrot came to Kuwait where he held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Yahya on ways of strengthening the relations, in addition to signing several accords and memoranda of understanding in diverse spheres. The Kuwaiti Embassy in France took part in the Gulf Vision Conference (2025), held in France under the sponsorship of President Emmanuel Macron, aimed at bolstering the European nation’s partnership with the GCC states amid rapid changes in the global economy and mutual efforts to broaden the economic relations. France is a major investor in Kuwait’s energy, infrastructure, transport, health, and cosmetics sectors, with the number of French companies operating in the Gulf country accounting for 50 percent of the European companies.

France and Kuwait had signed several agreements in different sectors, namely in taxation, first inked in 1973, in addition to an agreement for protecting and boosting investments, ratified by the two governments in 1989. In June 2017, Kuwait and Paris signed an agreement for executing measures of the taxation treaties. France mainly exports to Kuwait cosmetics, perfumes, clothes, vehicles, food and aviation equipment. At the military level, Kuwait eyes France a strategic ally, especially since Paris took part in the international coalition for liberating the country in 1991, along with subsequent defense treaties. In August 1992, the two countries signed a defense treaty regulating cooperation and stipulating that Paris pledges to stand on Kuwait’s side against any external aggression. It also tackled the holding of military training and maneuvers, exchanging expertise. Moreover, they had signed another accord in December 2006 on defense cooperation. In the health sector, a delegation of Nice University visited Kuwait and held talks with local health officials on enhancing cooperation and expertise exchange. In April 2025, Minister of Health Dr. Ahmad Al-Awadi signed an MoU with Gustave Roussy Hospital. At the level of scientific and cultural cooperation, the two countries had signed several MoUs and accords to increase the number of Kuwaiti students studying in France, to partake in cultural activities, and to exchange experience in the field.