By Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar

KUWAIT CITY

The U.K. has agreed to deploy troops in Kuwait upon a request from the Kuwaiti government, a local Kuwaiti newspaper reported Wednesday.

An-Nahar daily, citing an unnamed diplomatic source, said London has approved a Kuwaiti request for the deployment of troops in the Gulf country.

The source expected the troops would be deployed by the end of this year.

The move, according to the same source, followed a meeting of the UK-Kuwait Joint Steering Group last week and a visit by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sabah al-Khalid al-Hamad al-Sabah to London, which he concluded on Monday.

There was no comment from either U.K. or Kuwait on the report.

British ambassador to Kuwait Michael Davenport earlier said in an interview with Forces Network that London was considering a permanent military presence in Kuwait.

“We’re looking at all the possibilities. We’re not talking about a major deployment I don’t think, but we’re looking at what might work for both the United Kingdom and for Kuwait. As I say, it’s at a very early stage,” he said.

The UK-Kuwait Joint Steering Group was established in 2012 and holds regular meetings in both countries.