Bangladesh is in talks with Kuwait to provide female military trainers to help prepare new female recruits and cadets in the Kuwaiti armed forces, the Bangladeshi ambassador to Kuwait said, as the Gulf state pushes ahead with integrating women into its military ranks.
Maj. Gen. Syed Hussain, Bangladesh's Ambassador to Kuwait, told local newspaper Al-Jarida that discussions with Kuwaiti military officials included deploying Bangladeshi female personnel to support the training of Kuwaiti women in the armed forces.
Kuwait has made steady progress in recent years to include women in its military. In mid-June, the Ali Al Sabah Military College opened registration for female officer cadets for the first time, following a landmark decision in 2021 allowing women to join the military in certain roles.
"The integration of women into the military is part of the ongoing modernization and development of the Kuwaiti army," Lt. Gen. Pilot Sheikh Sabah Al-Jaber Al Sabah, Deputy Chief of General Staff, said in April.
Ambassador Hussain said he recently met with Lt. Gen. Sheikh Sabah Al-Jaber to explore avenues for future cooperation.
“We discussed a wide range of areas, including the exchange of instructors between the Mubarak Al-Abdullah Joint Command and Staff College in Kuwait and its counterpart in Bangladesh, reactivating joint commando training between the two countries, providing engineering support for military housing and barracks construction, and sending female trainers to support the training of Kuwaiti women in uniform,” he said.
Talks also covered military band cooperation, with potential Bangladeshi support to train and staff the Kuwaiti military band, as well as the delivery of agreed camouflage uniforms and plans to establish specialized manufacturing facilities in Kuwait.
Bangladesh currently has over 5,000 military personnel stationed in Kuwait across various units, including some serving under the Ministry of Interior, particularly in information technology roles, the ambassador said.
