Kuwait and France Sign Investment, Aviation and AI Accords as Trade Reaches 3.3 Billion Euros
Kuwait and France signed agreements on Monday covering direct investment, civil aviation, data and artificial intelligence, academic cooperation, cancer care and space research, during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Kuwait. They come on top of a trading relationship worth 3.299 billion euros in 2025, up 20 percent from 2022, in which Kuwait sold France 1.152 billion euros more in goods than it bought, according to the French Treasury.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and President Macron attended the signing at Bayan Palace, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported, with His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah present.
Accords on Direct Investment and Aviation
The Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) signed a declaration of intent on direct investment with the French government, represented by Business France. Its Director General, Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, signed with Jean-Noel Barrot, France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. The text provides for exchanging expertise, knowledge and best practice in direct investment, promoting exchanges of visits and delegations, and organising events, conferences and exhibitions. Its stated aims are a more diverse economic base and sustainable investment partnerships.
Kuwait and France also signed a letter of intent on civil aviation cooperation. A separate declaration with Airbus on strategic cooperation in aviation was signed for the planemaker by Benoit de Saint-Exupery, its Executive Vice President of Commercial Aircraft Sales. It covers the transfer of knowledge, technical expertise, development and maintenance, and aims to train and qualify Kuwaiti talent to build a more advanced national aviation system.
The aviation link already shows in the trade data. Kuwait Airways took delivery of 3 A321neo and 4 A330 aircraft from May 2025, and France’s aircraft sales to Kuwait rose to a record 597 million euros from 158 million euros a year earlier. That is a gain of 439 million euros, or 277.8 percent, on our calculation.
AI, Health, Education and Space Research
Kuwait’s Ministry of State for Communications and Information Technology signed a declaration on exploratory cooperation in data and artificial intelligence with Pertimm, a Paris-based AI company. Omar Al-Omar signed for the ministry. Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Minister Barrot signed a declaration of intent on academic cooperation.
The Ministry of Health joined a declaration of intent with the Gustave Roussy International Foundation, signed for the ministry by Health Ministry Undersecretary Sheikh Dr. Salman Khalifa Abdullah Al-Sabah and for the foundation by its President, Fabrice Barlesi. It aims to advance the Kuwait Cancer Center and to give cancer patients treatment and care to international standards inside Kuwait. In February 2025 the Health Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with Gustave Roussy to develop healthcare services in Kuwait.
The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus on space technology. Director General Dr. Amina Farhan signed with Gabriel Semelas, Airbus’s Managing Director and Head of Region for Africa and the Middle East. It covers satellite imagery and Earth observation, joint training curricula, digital space platforms, data analysis and AI, plus a shared workspace and laboratory with Airbus at the Kuwait National Center for Space Research.
Aircraft Lift French Sales as Kuwait Keeps a Surplus
France’s total exports to Kuwait rose 68.5 percent in 2025 to 1.07 billion euros. Outside aircraft, French sales were steady at 475 million euros against 478 million euros in 2024, so the 597 million euro aircraft line made up 55.7 percent of the 1.072 billion euro total of both lines, on our calculation.
Aircraft Drive French Exports to Kuwait in 2025
| Trade line | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft exports to Kuwait | €158m | €597m | +277.8% |
| Other exports to Kuwait | €478m | €475m | -0.6% |
| Imports from Kuwait | €1.96bn | €2.22bn | +13% |
French Treasury country data for Kuwait, published 14 September 2026. Export changes are our calculation from the published values; the import change is as published.
Kuwait’s sales to France are almost entirely refined petroleum products, 99.5 percent of the 2.22 billion euro total, or 2.21 billion euros on our calculation. Refined products and the 597 million euros of aircraft together came to 2.8 billion euros, or 85 percent of two-way trade, on our calculation. French purchases from Kuwait have grown 27 percent since 2022 and now make up 31.9 percent of Europe’s total imports from Kuwait. French exports covered 48.2 percent of French imports from Kuwait in 2025, on our calculation.
Kuwait’s goods surplus with France came to 1.152 billion euros in 2025, compared with 1.330 billion euros in 2024. The 178 million euro difference, on our calculation, reflects the jump in aircraft purchases rather than any fall in Kuwaiti sales, which rose 13 percent.
Total two-way trade climbed from 2.739 billion euros in 2022 to 3.299 billion euros in 2025, a gain of 20.4 percent, or 6.4 percent a year compounded, on our calculation. Over the same period France’s trade with the GCC as a whole fell 4 percent.
Kuwait Ranks 4th Among France’s GCC Export Markets in 2025
| Market | French exports | Share of the 4 |
|---|---|---|
| UAE | €9.70bn | 58% |
| Saudi Arabia | €4.54bn | 27% |
| Qatar | €1.51bn | 9% |
| Kuwait | €1.07bn | 6% |
Shares are our calculation against the 16.82 billion euro sum of the 4 markets named in the same data.
Room to Grow Beyond Fuel and Aircraft
The rest of France’s sales lean on industrial goods. Other industrial products made up 57.5 percent of the 475 million euros on our calculation, led by chemicals at 110 million euros, textiles at 61 million euros, manufactured goods at 39 million euros and pharmaceuticals at 31 million euros. Chemicals alone were 23.2 percent of non-aircraft sales, on our calculation.
French Non-Aircraft Exports to Kuwait by Product, 2025
| Product group | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Other industrial products | €273m | 57.5% |
| Electrical, electronic and IT equipment | €102m | 21.5% |
| Food, beverages and tobacco | €68m | 14.3% |
| Remaining products | €32m | 6.7% |
Shares, and the remaining products line as the balance of the 475 million euro total, are our calculation.
Among European suppliers France ranked 3rd in 2025, behind Italy and Germany, with 15 percent of European sales to Kuwait.
Seen from Kuwait, France has room to grow. Kuwait’s statistics bureau, cited in the French data, ranked France as its 9th largest supplier in 2024 with 3 percent of imports, against 20.6 percent for China, 11.9 percent for the UAE and 9.8 percent for the United States. France was Kuwait’s 32nd export destination, with 0.2 percent. French firms make up “around 50 percent of European companies operating in Kuwait”, KUNA said in a background report on Monday, naming France among Kuwait’s key international investors, particularly in energy, infrastructure and cosmetics.
The legal base is long established: a tax cooperation agreement from 1973 and an investment promotion and protection agreement from 1989. In July 2025 Kuwait and France signed a declaration of intent on a Kuwait-France Strategic Investment Partnership for 2025 to 2035.
Why it matters: Kuwait already sells France more than it buys, and in 2025 the relationship rested on refined products going north and aircraft coming south. Monday’s accords add training, technical know-how, data and AI work, cancer care and space research to that base, and the KDIPA declaration with Business France provides for visits, delegations and events aimed at diversifying Kuwait’s economic base.
Outlook: No values were published with the accords, so the next measurable steps are the projects that follow: maintenance and training work with Airbus, the shared space laboratory at the national space research centre, and work with Gustave Roussy to advance the Kuwait Cancer Center. France’s 2026 trade data will be the next read on the aviation link, with the 2025 to 2035 Strategic Investment Partnership as the frame for investment.
Sources: KUNA, French Treasury, The Edge.
