State of Kuwait

Brazil and Kuwait established diplomatic relations in 1968. In 1975, Brazil opened a resident diplomatic mission in Kuwait, and Kuwait  opened a diplomatic mission in Brasília that same year. Since then, the two countries have deepened political and economic dialogue through successive high-level visits.

Among the Brazilian authorities who have traveled to Kuwait are the Ministers of Foreign Affairs in 1986 and 2005, and, on the Kuwaiti side, the visits of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1975 and the Prime Minister in 2010 stand out.

The 1st Meeting of Bilateral Consultations took place in June 2018, in Kuwait City. The second edition took place in February 2021, in a virtual format. Other interactions have contributed to the intensification of relations, such as the visit of the then Minister of Agriculture in 2019 and the visit of the President of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies in the same year.

The 1973 oil crisis boosted the rapprochement between Brazil and hydrocarbon exporting countries, including Kuwait, culminating in the signing of a Cooperation Agreement in 1975 and the creation of bilateral mechanisms, such as the Joint Commission.

The reestablishment of trade relations began in 1995, after an interruption due to the conflict in the Gulf. In 2024, trade between Brazil and Kuwait totaled $985 million (an increase of 47.4% compared to 2023), as a result of $404 million in Brazilian exports (an increase of 51%) and $580 million in imports (an increase of 44.9%). The trade balance had a deficit of $175 million for Brazil. Brazilian exports consist largely of poultry meat (75%), steel pipes and profiles (8.7%) and unground corn (5.9%), while 99% of Brazilian imports from Kuwait are made up of fuel oils.

Chronology of bilateral relations

2024 – Meeting between Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait, Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, on the sidelines of the 1st Brazil-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue Meeting, in Riyadh

2021 – 2nd Political Consultation Meeting

2019 – Visit by the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina

2018 – First Brazil-Kuwait Bilateral Consultation Meeting

2018 – Visit to Brazil by the Deputy Minister of Electricity and Water of Kuwait, Mohammed Bosheri

2017 – Visit to Kuwait by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Blairo Maggi

2015 – Visit to Brasília by a Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation, led by deputy Askar Al Enzi

2012 – Visit to Rio de Janeiro by Sheikha Amthal al Ahmad al Jaber al Sabah, sister of the Emir of Kuwait, leading the Kuwaiti delegation to the Rio+20 Conference

2010 – The Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Miguel Jorge, visits Kuwait

2010 – The Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Nasser Al Sabah, visits Brasília

2005 – The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah, visits Brasília, leading the Kuwaiti delegation to the 1st South America-Arab Countries Summit (ASPA)

2005 – Foreign Minister Celso Amorim visits Kuwait

2002 – The Secretary-General of Foreign Affairs, Osmar Chohfi, visits Kuwait

1994 – The Minister of the Army, General Zenildo Gonzaga Zoroastro de Lucena, visits Kuwait

1993 – Creation of the Brazil-Kuwait Parliamentary Group within the Chamber of Deputies. Kuwaiti Minister of Information, Sheikh Saud al Sabah, visits Brazil

1992 – The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber al Ahmad al Sabah, visits Rio de Janeiro, leading his country’s delegation to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio-92)

1986 – Foreign Minister Roberto de Abreu Sodré visits Kuwait

1983 – Finance Minister Antônio Delfim Netto visits Kuwait

1981 – Finance Minister Ernane Galvêas visits Kuwait

1980 – Finance Minister Abdul-Haman al Atiqi visits Brasília

1980 – Industry and Commerce Minister João Camilo Penna visits Kuwait

1979 – 2nd Joint Commission Meeting in Brasília

1977 – 1st Joint Commission Meeting in Kuwait

1975 – Opening of the Kuwaiti Embassy in Brasília

1975 – Establishment of the Brazilian diplomatic mission resident in Kuwait City (Decree No. 75,547, of 1/4/75)

1975 – Visit to Brasília by the then Minister of Foreign Affairs and current Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah

1973 – Transfer of the cumulative Brazilian embassy in Kuwait to the Brazilian embassy in Jeddah (Decree No. 73,243, of 3/12/73)

1968 – Establishment of diplomatic relations between Brazil and Kuwait. Creation of the first Brazilian diplomatic representation in the emirate, operating cumulatively from the embassy in Cairo (Decree No. 62,238, of 8/2/68)