Statement from Gen. Erik Kurilla after meeting with Kuwaiti military leadership

Statement made by General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, following his meetings with Kuwait Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Sheikh Khaled Saleh Al-Sabah, his staff and subordinate commanders at the headquarters of the Kuwaiti Army General Staff in Kuwait City, Kuwait, July 19. 

"Kuwait is a valued partner for the U.S. military. In fact, U.S. Central Command’s ironclad relationship with the Kuwaiti Armed Forces goes back to CENTCOM’s founding in 1983. The relationship, which was then forged in mutual battle during Kuwait’s liberation in 1991, and continues to grow today, reaps security and stability benefits for the United States and the Middle East.

 "My discussions today affirmed the strength of this bond. This partnership is manifest on land, in air, and at sea, and has great potential in innovation, with unmanned naval systems operated by NAVCENT’s Combined Task Force 59. In fact, Kuwait leads Combined Task Force-152, the multi-partner task force focused on maritime security. 

"In my discussions with General Al-Sabah and his subordinate leaders, we spoke of opportunities to strengthen partnership, not only between the United States military and Kuwaiti military, but also with partnered forces throughout the Middle East. We engaged on many items of mutual interest to our militaries. Among them: a glide path to develop integrated air and missile defense systems, methods to strengthen our security partnership to address the threats in the region, and opportunities to increase cooperation with militaries across the Middle East.

"As the visit by President Biden demonstrated, the United States remains fully invested in military cooperation in the Middle East. Furthermore, CENTCOM is firmly committed to stability in the region.  President Biden stated that the United States must not allow a vacuum in the Middle East for China or Russia to exploit. Integrating and innovating with partnered forces such as the Kuwaiti Armed Forces, will ensure a firm American presence in the Middle East."