The UAE shares Kuwait’s joy on National Day

The UAE and the sister State of Kuwait participate in the celebrations of its National Day, which falls on February 25 of each year, as an embodiment of the depth of fraternal relations and the strategic partnership that links the two leaderships and the two brotherly peoples.

The UAE-Kuwaiti relations are a model in their strength, integration, and ability to develop in all fields, in light of the common constants and visions that bring together the two brotherly countries. Their relationship also represents a major pillar of the unity of the Gulf House and the preservation of its security and stability.

The directives of the wise Emirati leadership to celebrate the deep-rooted fraternal relations between the Emirates and Kuwait for a week during the period from January 29 to February 4, 2026 in all the emirates of the country, under the slogan “The Emirates and Kuwait…brothers forever,” embodied a deep Emirati appreciation for the sisterly State of Kuwait, and for the nature of the special relations that bring together the two brotherly countries and peoples.

Bilateral relations between the UAE and Kuwait are moving forward with the support and care of the wise leadership of the two brotherly countries, represented by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, “may God protect him,” and His Highness Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of the sisterly State of Kuwait.

The two countries are keen to consolidate their bilateral relations and move them towards broad horizons of cooperation and coordination, through a group of joint mechanisms and committees, most notably the “Joint Supreme Committee” between the two countries, which held its sixth session recently in the sisterly State of Kuwait, and witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding in the field of consumer protection and commercial control, the executive program of the tourism cooperation agreement for the years 2026-2028, and the executive program of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of standardization activities. For the years 2026 – 2028, and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of enhancing integrity and combating corruption, in addition to a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of oversight and audit of the public sector.

The UAE and the State of Kuwait have strong and growing economic and trade relations, reflected in the continuous growth in bilateral trade figures, as the total trade exchange during 10 years (between 2013 and 2022) reached 317 billion dirhams, with 63 billion dirhams for imports, 85.5 billion dirhams for non-oil exports, and 168.5 billion dirhams in the value of re-exports.

The volume of non-oil trade exchange between the two countries reached 38.8 billion dirhams during the first nine months of 2025, achieving a growth of 7.6%. Imports between the UAE from Kuwait during the third quarter of 2025 also increased by 3.6% compared to the same period in 2024, and re-export operations recorded a growth of 4% during the third quarter.

The State of Kuwait is one of the most important trading partners of the UAE. The UAE is also the second largest trading partner of Kuwait globally and the first in the Arab and Gulf countries and accounts for approximately 20% of Kuwait’s non-oil exports.

The tourism sector represents one of the basic pillars of economic relations between the two countries, as the number of Kuwaiti tourists coming to the UAE reached 400,000 during the year 2025, recording an increase of approximately 6% compared to 2024, and the total number of direct flights operated by national carriers between the two countries reached 174 direct flights weekly.

The education sector constitutes an essential pillar in the process of cooperation between the UAE and Kuwait, and the first steps of this cooperation go back to the year 1952, when the late Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, directed, following a visit to the Emirate of Sharjah, to send a Kuwaiti educational delegation to the Emirates.

The process of educational cooperation between the two countries extended over the following decades, witnessing a qualitative development that reflects mutual trust in the educational systems, as UAE universities receive about 1,725 ​​Kuwaiti students who benefit from the advanced educational environment provided by the UAE.

The joint committees between the two brotherly countries contributed to consolidating cultural cooperation, as during the first session of the joint supreme committee between the UAE and Kuwait, which was held in March 2008, seven agreements were signed that included the fields of culture, arts, education, higher education and scientific research.

In 2014, an executive program for cooperation in the field of libraries, culture and arts was signed between the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature in the State of Kuwait, and in 2020 an executive program for cooperation in the educational field and an executive program for cooperation in the field of culture and arts were signed.