Kuwait and Switzerland: A Strategic Partnership and Exemplary Historical Ties
The official visit of His Highness the Crown Prince, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, to Switzerland caps a six-decade journey of solid Kuwaiti-Swiss diplomatic relations and strategic partnership between the two countries. The visit also embodies the depth of historical ties and the exemplary nature of bilateral relations, as high-level talks focus on enhancing coordination on issues of mutual interest and consolidating cooperation across various fields, reflecting the wise leadership’s commitment in both countries to elevate this partnership to serve their shared interests.
Previously, Swiss Federal President Guy Parmelin visited Kuwait on February 1, holding official talks with His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The discussions reviewed the bilateral relations uniting the two countries and peoples, and ways to support and develop them across various fields. The talks also addressed expanding cooperation frameworks between Kuwait and Switzerland to broader horizons serving their common interests, key issues of mutual concern, and the latest developments in regional and international arenas, including an exchange of views on these matters.
Following the Swiss President’s visit, the "Swiss-Kuwaiti Business Days 2026" were held in Kuwait on February 3 and 4, with participation from a delegation of Swiss companies. The event highlighted the depth of economic relations between the two countries and accompanied the celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
On September 9, Ambassador Youssef Abdul-Samad presented his credentials to the Swiss Federal President as Kuwait’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Switzerland in Bern. During the meeting, Parmelin expressed his country’s pride in the close relations between the two nations, reaffirming his commitment to continuing the development of bilateral cooperation in various fields to serve the shared interests of both countries and peoples. In turn, Abdul-Samad expressed Kuwait’s pride in the historic and distinctive relations with Switzerland, emphasizing the aspiration to elevate them to broader horizons.
Bilateral relations between Kuwait and Switzerland serve as a successful model of diplomatic relations among nations, with wise leadership in both countries keen on consolidating them and coordinating cooperation on regional and global issues of mutual interest. These relations began on June 16, 1966, when a Swiss consulate was opened in Kuwait City. That same year, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah was appointed Kuwait’s Consul General to Switzerland in Geneva, becoming the first to establish a Kuwaiti diplomatic mission in Switzerland. At that time, the Swiss government appointed its ambassador to Lebanon as its accredited ambassador to Kuwait. A year later, Switzerland opened an honorary consulate in Kuwait, appointing the late Murad Youssef Bahbahani as its honorary consul.
Kuwait was the second Gulf country to establish relations with Switzerland. Switzerland opened its embassy in Kuwait in 1975, while Kuwait opened its embassy in Bern in 2006. On October 25, 2025, the new Swiss Embassy building in Kuwait was inaugurated in the Qadisiya area, attended by Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, and officials from both countries.
Kuwait recalls Switzerland’s principled and honorable stance supporting Kuwaiti rights during the brutal Iraqi aggression. Switzerland allowed a humanitarian initiative for Kuwaiti students to enroll in Swiss schools and responded to the suffering of the Kuwaiti people. It also played an active role in addressing the file of Kuwaiti prisoners and missing persons through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In recent years, bilateral relations have seen notable development, reflected in mutual visits between senior officials. In the field of bilateral cooperation, the two countries signed agreements and memoranda in various areas. In October 1998, the parties signed an agreement to encourage and protect investments between the two countries. In 1999, they signed an agreement on double taxation, followed in November 2019 by a protocol amending the double taxation agreement to align with international changes in double taxation avoidance treaties.
In March 2016, the two countries signed an agreement exempting holders of diplomatic and special passports from entry visas. In August of the same year, they signed a memorandum of understanding on international development cooperation, followed in November 2016 by an agreement on political and security consultations. On May 25, they signed a memorandum of understanding on development cooperation between the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
Kuwaiti-Swiss economic relations continue to develop steadily. The Kuwaiti Sovereign Fund’s investments in Switzerland exceed 15 billion US dollars, reflecting Kuwait’s high confidence in the prestigious investment environment provided by Switzerland through its distinctive legal framework and economic facilitations for foreign investors.
Commercial relations between the private sectors of the two countries date back to the early 1930s, when several Swiss commercial agencies entered Kuwait. These ties were strengthened in 2023 with the launch of the Kuwaiti-Swiss Business Platform.
