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BG 11.013 - July 11, 2011
The ongoing need to support Canada’s mission in Afghanistan has provided the Government of Canada with the opportunity to build on Canada’s bilateral relationship with Kuwait.
Kuwait is an important partner in the Gulf region, and Canada is proud of the contribution it has made to the liberation of Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War. Recent discussions resulted in Kuwait issuing an invitation to Canada to support logistics operations through Kuwait to facilitate the Canadian Forces mission in Afghanistan.
CF logistics operations through Kuwait will commence in 2011 to support the redeployment of equipment and materiel out of Afghanistan during the new training mission.
The Intermediate Staging Terminal will be a staging point in Kuwait between Canada and the theatre of operations, where equipment and personnel will be provided safe movement to the next destination.
As Afghanistan is a “land-locked” country, a large part of Canadian equipment must be transported out by air. Materiel will be received, washed, cross-loaded onto ships and returned to Canada as necessary.
Kuwait is a natural fit to meet the needs of the Canadian Forces given its proximity to the Afghanistan area of operations, and Canada’s strong bilateral relationship with Kuwait.
This process will occur under the auspices of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Governments of Canada and Kuwait, allowing the CF to use existing sites in Kuwait as transit points between Afghanistan and Canada. The MOU will be the framework for governing CF logistics operations in Kuwait.
The MOU contains provisions governing the technical, legal and financial aspects of the CF presence in Kuwait, and sets parameters when required. For example, the MOU indicates that no more than 3,000 CF personnel would be permitted in Kuwait at any one time. This number was reached to establish flexibility in our relationship with the Government of Kuwait, though the actual number of personnel in Kuwait will be closer to 200 CF members.
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