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Strengthening the preparedness of Kuwait’s emergency response forces requires both the acquisition of state-of-the-art technology and specialized training, which has been provided for several years in cooperation with a number of partner countries and is the subject of the second part of this article.
Fostering a New Type of Training to Strengthen National Readiness
Beyond the technological aspect, Kuwait has focused on specialized training for its first responders. Regional and international partners are contributing to such a skill’s upgrade: the European Union plays a key role in training Kuwaiti medical personnel, particularly for radiological emergencies and CBRN incidents through dedicated centers of excellence (1).
Kuwait officially joined the EU CBRN Centers of Excellence initiative in 2018 as a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The country played an important role in developing the roadmap for Project 82 on strengthening medical preparedness and response capabilities for CBRN incidents, which was launched in 2019 on the basis of Project 54 involving Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon (2).
As a result, the first ever three-day national training course on medical preparedness for CBRN emergencies (“Medical Preparedness and Response to CBRN Emergencies”) was held, organized by the Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialties (KIMS) in partnership with the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) and funded by the EU CBRN CoE (3). More than thirty healthcare professionals, firefighters, and military personnel familiarized themselves with decontamination procedures, hazardous agent reconnaissance, contaminated site management, and the use of personal protection gear.
In July 2024, an in-depth four-day session was held to strengthen general response capabilities in the event of a radiological or nuclear accident. Approximately 100 to 150 participants were trained in contamination procedures, the use of protective equipment (PPE) and victim management (4).
This international standardization process is linked to Kuwait’s annual Shamil exercises (“Shamil Holistic Exercises”), which focus on interministerial cooperation in disaster management.
NATO also contributes to the strengthening of Kuwaiti first responders’ capabilities through similar training courses provided by ACT (Allied Command Transformation) centers of excellence.
- From October 27th to October 31st, 2024, the JCBRN Defense CoE – ACT’s Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Center of Excellence established in 2006 and based in the Czech Republic – organized a CBRN awareness course in Kuwait City as part of NATO’s Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI). The course brought together 18 regional participants and focused on interoperability and civil-military cooperation in crisis management (5).
- From May 25th to May 29th, 2025, the CMDR COE (ACT’s Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence created in 2015 and based in Bulgaria (6)) organized a training course on crisis management and disaster response focusing on strengthening resilience.
In addition to these international partnerships, Kuwait is also stepping up its regional cooperation, particularly with the United Arab Emirates in the field of crisis management. This momentum for developing joint projects around incident simulation, technological interoperability, and critical information sharing is part of the broader modernization of Kuwait’s civil defense.
By focusing on an integrated approach—cutting-edge technology, interdisciplinary training, scientific monitoring, and regional coordination—Kuwait is continuously strengthening its posture against CBRN threats. In an unstable geopolitical context, this strategy makes the country a model as a proactive player in regional resilience, capable of responding quickly to major emergency scenarios.
(By Murielle Delaporte)
Notes
(1) See on this topic: >>> https://cbrn-risk-mitigation.network.europa.eu/eu-cbrn-centres-excellence/network/gulf-cooperation-council_en
(2) https://cbrn-risk-mitigation.network.europa.eu/projects-pool-page-use-list-page-instead/project-082_en
(3) https://www.istc.int/news/istc-and-kuwaiti-cbrn-emergency-medicine-master-trainers-delivered-first-national-training-course-to-strengthen-cbrn-emergency-medicine-preparedness-and-response-in-kuwait
(4) https://cbrn-risk-mitigation.network.europa.eu/news-1/kuwait-enhances-medical-readiness-radiation-emergency-training-2024-07-26
(5) https://www.jcbrncoe.org/news/cbrn-awareness-for-first-responders-course-in-kuwait-city
(6) https://cmdrcoe.org