Kuwait is an active player in international fora and regularly partakes in counterterrorism training. The nation is a member of the Global Coalition to Beat ISIS and co-leads the Foreign Terrorist Fighters Working Group with Türkiye and the Netherlands. Kuwait has started its Financial Action Task Force mutual evaluation process.  

Recently, Kuwait has imprisoned a citizen for planning “terrorist acts” within the Gulf country, including against American armed forces, the Public Prosecution announced. The man, whose self-identity was not revealed, was detained on charges of entering a “banned organization and planning terrorist actions inside the country,” the statement said.

The individual reportedly also posted audio and video content of the organization’s activities and news on social media. The organization was not anointed. The authorities also stated in the statement that the man learnt to assemble explosives and incite others “with the purpose of blowing up camps belonging to American armed forces.” The defendant reportedly admitted to the charges, leading to the detention of other accused individuals.

Moreover, In January 2024, Kuwait’s interior ministry conveyed that security forces foiled a plan by a ‘terrorist’ cell that planned to target places of worship belonging to the Shia sect. It led to the detention of three Arabs belonging to a terrorist organization. No further detail was delivered. Kuwait holds several US military bases. In 2015, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a crowded Shia Muslim mosque, killing 27 people. It observed one of the deadliest militant attacks in decades. ISIS claimed responsibility.

To counter extremism, the Ministry of Interior operates TV and radio programming aimed at audiences considered to be at higher risk of “radicalization.” The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs established a five-year strategic plan to promote moderation and encounter violent extremism. The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs utilises the Kuwait Moderation Center, which sponsors programs developed to promote religious tolerance. In October, the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs created a committee to counter radicalization to brutality and violent extremism on the internet and social media.

Kuwait also served as head of the Arab League from September to early 2022, is a member of the Governing Board of Administrators of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law and remains an enthusiastic member of the Global Coalition to Beat ISIS Small Group.  Kuwait continued its historical function as a mediator in several regional disputes, most notably negotiating the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-Lebanon rift. Additionally, Kuwait hosts the headquarters for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR).

Kuwait is a component of the following international organizations committed to counterterrorism cooperation:  the United Nations, the Arab League, the GCC, the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition, and CJTF-OIR.