Rear-Admiral William Truelove, commander of Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force (Pacific), signed a memorandum of understanding in Kuwait City this week that will see the the establishment of an Canadian Armed Forces operational support hub in that country.
The MOU was signed on behalf of Lieutenant-General Stu Beare, commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command with Lieutenant-General Mohammad Khaled Al-Khedher, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces.
The deal is the latest in an effort to establish global support hubs from which the CAF can transit personnel and stock materiel and equipment for operations in a given region.
Canada has been strengthening defence relations and cooperation with Kuwait over the last number of years, especially since it’s forward logistics base in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was closed in late 2010.
Canada signed an MOU with Kuwait in 2011 to establish an Operational Support Detachment in support of operations in Afghanistan. This new agreement has a broader mandate and scope, “as it may be used to support a variety of operations outside of Kuwait including peacekeeping, development, and humanitarian aid and disaster-relief,” DND said in a press release.
“This MOU allows us to sustain the Canadian Armed Forces’ capability to support military activities in the region as required,” said LGen Beare. “This Operational Support Hub is part of a vital network of Canadian military cooperation with partners throughout the region.”
For more on the CAF’s global engagement strategy, an interview with General Beare is available here.