At the invitation of the President of the French Republic, Mr Emmanuel Macron, His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, made his first visit to France on 13 and 14 July 2025. On this occasion, he attended the parade for the Bastille Day parade.

H.H. the Amir held discussions with the President of the French Republic during a working luncheon following the parade at the Élysée Palace, with the Foreign and Defence Ministers in attendance, along with the Finance Minister of the French Republic, the Director General of the Kuwait Direct Investment Authority and the Managing Director of the Kuwait Investment Authority.

The President of the French Republic and H.H. the Amir of Kuwait hailed the importance of the long-standing partnership that binds their two countries, and H.H. the Amir of Kuwait invited the President of the French Republic to Kuwait in 2026 to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and Kuwait.

Economy, trade and investment

The President of the French Republic and His Highness the Amir underlined the importance of strengthening their partnership in the areas of the economy, trade and investments, which contribute to supporting job creation and innovation. They welcomed joint efforts to increase the flow of investments between the two countries.

The Heads of State reiterated their aim to invest and support the investments of their government authorities and public entities, including the Banque Publique d'Investissement and the Kuwait Investment Authority, and semi-public entities, with regard to projects, funds and other investment instruments that benefit their economies. 

As part of the “France 2030” strategic framework and “Kuwait Vision 2035”, the President of the French Republic and His Highness the Amir of Kuwait welcomed the signing of a strategic investment partnership for the mutual benefit of the two countries, in order to increase investments, including in key sectors such as energy transition, semiconductors, aerospace, artificial intelligence, digital technology, healthcare, the hotel sector and cultural and creative industries in France. A joint action group on French-Kuwaiti cross-investment will be set up to promote the creation of concrete projects and will work on the basis of announcements at the next Choose France Summit.

The Heads of State have shown that they want to encourage the positioning of French expertise to meet the priorities of Kuwait and its economic transformation plan, particularly in the areas of transport, energy and sustainable cities. They discussed the next stages for implementing the declaration of intent on energy cooperation signed by the French and Kuwaiti Foreign Ministers in Kuwait on 24 April 2025. H.H. the Amir also had an opportunity to hold discussions with major French companies alongside these meetings.

Defence, security and judicial cooperation

France and Kuwait reiterated the importance of their bilateral relationship in terms of security and defence. They two Heads of State commended the growth of military cooperation and the Kuwaiti army’s use of French equipment to upgrade Kuwait’s defence capabilities.

The Heads of State expressed their shared will to develop a multi-year training cycle in France for Kuwaiti military personnel, to increase joint training exercises in order to strengthen interoperability between the two countries’ armed forces, as well as to support cooperation by embedding military personnel.

The two Heads of State welcomed the strengthening of their security partnership, including by welcoming a cooperation officer from the French gendarmerie into the Kuwait National Guard. They highlighted that cooperation on terrorism and its financing is essential in order to prevent terrorism and for the security of citizens.

They also expressed their wish to step up judicial cooperation in the area of international law enforcement.

Development cooperation

The two Heads of State welcomed the operational discussions launched by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD, French Development Agency) and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) as part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two entities in June 2023. The AFD and the KFAED expressed interest in implementing their partnership in the Middle East, where the needs are clear, and in co-funding projects in Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, to meet the needs of the people in terms of access to drinking water and healthcare. The two development agencies will continue discussions so that these initiatives can be presented to their respective decision-making bodies, with the aim of co-funding the first AFD-KFAED projects in 2025-2026.

Academic, scientific and technical cooperation

The two Heads of State welcome the strengthening cooperation in the fields of academic, scientific and technical between the two countries.

France and Kuwait encourage increased student mobility and aim to increase the number of students taking part in exchanges between Kuwait and France.

They welcomed the prospect of facilitating programmes providing specialized vocational training and increasing the number of state grants for Kuwaitis studying in France to 250 per year, particularly in the fields of medicine, business, finance and management, science and engineering, and artificial intelligence. They expressed their desire to facilitate the accreditation process for French universities and institutes of higher education, as well as to recognize the equivalence of qualifications      ; to draw up a list of excellent French establishments which could be accredited by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Higher Education      ; to help create the necessary conditions for Kuwaiti doctors to resume training-related mobility in France.

They highlighted their shared commitment to developing projects between French and Kuwaiti research centres across all scientific disciplines.

Health cooperation

The two Heads of State reiterated their commitment to advancing bilateral cooperation in all aspects of healthcare      : training doctors and medical teams, receiving patients, improving research and medical services, and the transfer of knowledge, all through strengthening existing partnerships with French healthcare facilities and expanding its scope with new partnerships with French healthcare providers, in line with the memorandum of understanding concluded with the Gustave Roussy Institute on 20 February 2025, as well as forthcoming agreements of cooperation between the State of Kuwait and leading healthcare institutions in the French Republic, including      : Institut Curie, Hôpital Foch, Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, Hôpital Rothschild, and Almaviva Sante.

They expressed their desire to collaborate on global health issues, and welcomed France’s hosting of the WHO Academy in Lyon, and its hosting of the One Health Summit at the end of 2025, in Paris.

Cultural cooperation

Noting their commitment to culture, the President of the French Republic and the H.H. the Amir of Kuwait welcomed the signing of a declaration of intent to step up cultural cooperation.

They commended the key role of the French Institute in Kuwait (FIK), as one of the main educational and cultural institutions in Kuwait, which is the main driver for promoting the French language and Francophone culture in Kuwait. They expressed their wish to increase French-language teaching within the Kuwaiti educational system, in line with Kuwait’s desire to join the International Organisation of the Francophonie. They welcomed the fact that the French Research Centre of the Arabian Peninsula (CEFREPA) has been in Kuwait since 2015, playing a key role in promoting Kuwaiti archaeological sites. They looked forward to working together to identify and set up a single site to host both entities, in order to form a cultural campus of excellence and enhance the cultural possibilities for people from Kuwait and the wider region.

They committed to help encourage cross-visits, to develop joint artistic projects, including supporting the creation of a national resident orchestra in Kuwait, as well as setting up training and skills-transfer programmes in the areas of museology, conservation and cultural mediation, with a view to promoting Kuwaiti heritage and encouraging the Kuwaiti public to visit national and international collections, particularly at the Kuwait National Museum.

Ahead of 65th anniversary celebrations of French-Kuwaiti diplomatic relations in 2026, they welcomed the upcoming organization of specific cultural events in both France and Kuwait.

They expressed their support for the work of the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage (APLIH) in conflict zones and to combat the effects of climate change, particularly in the Middle East.

H.H. the Amir of Kuwait looked forward to continued cooperation with the Arab World Institute as part of its mission to promote intercultural dialogue between French and Arab cultures, including by teaching Arabic in France.

To further bolster their partnership, the French Republic and the State of Kuwait are determined to enhance their dialogue and cooperation over the long term. An intergovernmental seminar chaired by the two Prime Ministers will shortly be held in France to implement this ambitious programme.

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