Kuwait courts Pakistan for a defense pact modeled on the Saudi deal

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Kuwait is in early-stage talks with Pakistan for a defense pact that would leverage Kuwait’s oil in exchange for expanded cooperation in troops and military equipment, five sources tell Reuters. Some of Kuwait’s requests mirror the pact that Saudi Arabia signed with Pakistan last year, but Pakistani officials are pushing back against deploying combat troops amid worries that its defense pacts in the region could risk dragging Pakistan into the US-Iran-Israel war.

IN CONTEXT- The talks could be read as part of a broader Gulf scramble for defence alternatives as confidence in US security guarantees erodes amid the US-Iran war. Islamabad is already in talks with Saudi Arabia and Turkey for a three-way defense pact, while Bahrain and Jordan have expressed interest in similar talks. Beyond the UAE, which was the top target for Iranian attacks, Kuwait’s infrastructure has also been hard hit during the Iran war, with the latest attacks taking place this weekend on one of its key oil facilities and a desalination plant.

BACKGROUND- Saudi and Pakistan signed a “strategic mutual defence agreement” last September that includes pledges of assistance by “all military means,” committing each country to treat any attack on one as an attack on both.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- It’s getting more and more difficult to get into or out of the Gulf as the US-Iran conflict heats up again. Etihad canceled its Abu Dhabi-Kuwait services on 19-20 July; Emirates and Air Arabia scrapped several flights connecting Kuwait with Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi; and Flydubai canceled one Dubai-Abha service amid disruptions at the Saudi airport, Gulf News reports.

Foreign carriers are even more risk averse: Air Astana halted UAE flights only days after restarting them, while British Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Air Canada have pushed their Dubai returns to October, the National writes. Lufthansa and Swiss are holding off until September. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency, meanwhile, is advising covered carriers to avoid the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and part of the Gulf of Oman until at least 29 July, with some detours adding 1-3 hours to flight times, according to a travel advisory.

SIGN OF THE TIMES- The IMF gave the UAE a strong bill of health mid-conflict, saying at the end of so-called Article IV consultations that wrapped last week that the country has absorbed the war’s impact thanks to sound fundamentals, ample buffers, and a swift policy response. The UAE showed “remarkable resilience” and both fiscal and external balances should remain in surplus, it said in a statement.

The caveats: GDP is projected to come in marginally lower this year as uncertainty weighs on tourism, transport, commerce and real estate. Pakistan is one of at least nine states that holds nuclear weapons.