Vodafone, Kuwait's Zain plan telecoms partnership

Vodafone Group has signed a deal with the Kuwaiti telecom Zain Group that it says will significantly extend the British telecommunications giant's reach in the Middle East.

The partnership agreement announced on Monday calls for Vodafone to work with Zain divisions in in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq, and is aimed in part at improving network coverage and trimming costs.

Vodafone already has Mideast operations in Egypt and Qatar.

Financial details weren't disclosed. The companies say they will not be taking equity stakes in one another.

Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund owns nearly a quarter of Zain. Etisalat last year dropped a $12 billion bid for a large piece of Zain as part of its own effort to expand further across the Middle East.