Kuwait Ministry of Defense Procurement Steps
For those companies - including U.S firms - seeking to business with Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense, the Ministry’s Foreign Procurement Sector (FPS) office has created a process for foreign companies to get pre-approved to sell to the ministry. Each product line sold to the ministry must be pre-approved individually by the FPS office, therefore following the below process is critical for successful sales to the ministry.
All communications between foreign companies and the Ministry of Defense should begin via the Foreign Procurement Sector Office. Kuwait military members are not allowed to communicate directly with foreign companies on new business without approval.
1. A request for a meeting with the Foreign Procurement Sector must be sent via a letter sent by email to FPS@mod.gov.kw. Meeting requests must be submitted at least (6) weeks before the proposed meeting date.
• The requirements for emails to the FPS office are strict and if the following rules are not followed, your meeting request could be rejected, and your email/organization could be blocked from further communications with the ministry:
Address the letter to:
o Assistant Undersecretary For Foreign Procurement
o Dr. Eng. Shamayel Ahmed Khaled Al Sabah
o Ministry of Defense
o State of Kuwait
• Request a meeting with the relevant committee and/or service leadership to provide them with information on your system. Provide several options for dates/times and they will respond with a letter granting access for the requested meeting.
• Use official letterhead. Do not send an email with only text. It will be rejected it and you will be requested to resend it with an official letter attached. Do not copy the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Coordinators from the U.S. Embassy.
• Text only emails are not accepted. Letters should be scanned and uploaded into an email message.
• All correspondence to the FPS office must be addressed to the Assistant Undersecretary for FPS.
2. Regular follow-up is recommended with office until you receive a confirmation that your email was received. The FPS office schedules meetings based on the current needs of the Kuwaiti military so it can take some time before a meeting is scheduled. Thus, travel plans to Kuwait should only be after a meeting is set.
3. Following your initial email, the FPS office will send you a request for catalogs, CDs, and/or USBs of your products which should be physically mailed or hand-delivered to the FPS office. Products must be approved individually for sale to the Ministry of Defense.
Please note: The FPS office will only discuss products for which they have physically received information from the vendor. New product offerings for which a company wishes to sell to the ministry should be sent to the FPS office for pre-approval.
Regular Mail:
Kuwait Ministry of Defense
Attn: Foreign Procurement Department
P.O. Box 1170 Safat
Kuwait City, Kuwait 13012
Drop Off (by Local Rep):
Kuwait Ministry of Defense
Attn: Foreign Procurement Department
General Registration office (Off to the right of Gate No. 12)
Gate No. 12, 4th Ring Road
Camp Mubarakiya, Shuwaikh
The Foreign Procurement Sector (FPS) office working hours:
Sunday through Thursday from 0700 to 1430 hours (GMT+3)
E-mail: FPS@mod.gov.kw
For any questions or support on the military sales process please email Yousif Almahdi, Commercial Specialist, Defense Sector at yousif.almahdi@trade.gov.