Spain has signed an agreement with the US allowing to make its presence at a military base in southwest of the country permanent. Morón Air Base will be now able to station up to 3,000 troops – more than triple the size of the current contingent.
The Spanish government approved the deal on Friday. United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) recently used Morón Air Base for operations to contain the Ebola outbreak sweeping through West Africa.
The high point of US State Secretary John Kerry’s visit to Madrid on Sunday and Monday will be sealing the agreement. Once signed, the new agreement needs to be ratified by the Spanish parliament.
The top-level visit sees Kerry planning to meet King Felipe, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo.
Morón Air Base is located in Spain’s Andalusia region, the country’s southernmost province. The base is less than an hour’s drive from Seville, a city with a population of almost one million.
