S.-Kuwait military cooperation plays a vital role in the region’s security architecture. Kuwaitis naturally look to Saudi Arabia as a leader in the region.However, they take great pride in their country’s political pluralism.In early 2016, thousands of oil workers went on strike to protest pay cuts proposed by the state-run Kuwait Oil Company.The government’s announcement that it would also cut fuel subsidies was vigorously attacked in parliament.Most recently, the emir dissolved the legislature in October 2016 and announced snap elections after members of parliament disrupted the government’s austerity agenda.That relationship is still grounded in the framework of the 1991 Gulf War, in which the United States liberated Kuwait from Saddam Hussein’s army.Furthermore, the Kuwaiti government is no longer alone in calling for economic reform.Painful efforts to transform petroleum-based economies have been launched in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

The Kuwaitis we met were hopeful that President Donald Trump would set aside inflammatory rhetoric in exchange for renewed U. This report argues that President Trump should shore up an essential regional partner through a series of modest investments designed to: U. In addition to this strong security partnership with the United States, Kuwait maintains an independent and pragmatic foreign policy across the Middle East.There is mounting anxiety that the regional competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia is spilling over into domestic sectarian politics and social conflicts.As one observer noted, “Regional conflicts have impacted relations between Shiites and Sunnis inside Kuwait.By the end of 2016, however, the situation had begun to improve.While relations between the opposition and ruling family remains tense, the public battle over succession has quieted.However, collective memory of that chapter in Kuwaiti history is receding. As one senior Kuwaiti diplomat observed, “Kuwaitis are very fond of Americans, but it is on us to remind future generations of our relationship.” Even now, bilateral relations are not without their own set of challenges. Only Japan, Germany, and South Korea host more American troops.The younger generation of Kuwaitis did not viscerally experience the Iraqi occupation and may come to question the value of the U. As one senior Kuwaiti security official observed: “When I open my land and sea to the United States and I’m still called a freeloader, there is something very wrong.” This deterioration in the tenor of bilateral diplomacy comes at a time when senior U. officials in the region consider Kuwait to be “as important of a strategic military partner now as it ever was.” The delegation met with top political and security officials, members of parliament, economists, and private sector representatives. Beginning in 2003, Kuwait provided the main staging area for military operations in Iraq.