KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait – An Allied Joint Force Command Naples delegation met to discuss partnership activities with Kuwait in Kuwait City on February 20, 2019.
Assistant Chief of Staff J9 Brigadier General Reinhard Kloss led the delegation.
Brigadier General Amhad Al Khalaf, Director of Military Cooperation, and other personnel from the Kuwaiti Armed Forces, received the delegation at the Kuwaiti Armed Forces Headquarters.
Topics of discussion ranged across a review of previous open topics, 2019 partnership activities, the seat allocation process, and a review of the 2020 recommended list of activities.
The NATO military partnership with Kuwait has seen a steady growth in numbers of Kuwait Armed Forces personnel participating in NATO activities over the last several years.
In 2018, Kuwait had a record number of Kuwaiti military personnel receiving NATO training since the beginning of the 14-year partnership.
General Kloss highlighted the increase in participation and encouraged Kuwait to continue the trend.
The meeting resulted in a better understanding on what the groups still needs to do to continue the partnership growth trend between NATO and Kuwait.
The NATO delegation visited the NATO-ICI Regional Centre and observed a JFC Naples Mobile Training Team conducting a Civil/Military Cooperation course, one of five military mobile training events NATO will execute in Kuwait this year.
General Kloss lauded attendees’ participation and encouraging them to take what they learned back to their ministries.
Kuwait is an active NATO partner country and was the first nation to become a member of the ICI Framework in 2004.
Kuwait participates in NATO initiatives, including courses at NATO Centres of Excellences, NATO School Oberammergau, the NATO Defense College, and Senior Executive NATO courses.
The expert staff meeting is part of the annual military cooperation between NATO and Kuwait, as it makes sure the military partnership is meeting the needs of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces’ and generates partnering activity that is in-line with NATO’s Military Committee’s direction and guidance.
Story by JFC Naples Public Affairs Office