Spain allocates €113,000 for halal meals for Moroccan military trainees at Navantia

The Spanish government will allocate €113,000 to cover meal costs for Moroccan military personnel undergoing training at the public shipbuilding company Navantia.

The funding covers meals for personnel participating in various training programs at the San Fernando shipyard, under a bilateral agreement with Morocco. The contract includes specific requirements: certified halal meat and a strict ban on alcohol and pork.

According to the contract terms, «meals must be balanced and varied, and must respect the principles of the Islamic religion observed by the client, ensuring they contain no pork or alcohol, and that all meat is certified halal».

Navantia is hosting up to 86 Moroccan military personnel between February 2025 and June 2026, with the goal of training them to operate a newly constructed warship.

The vessel measures 87 meters in length and 13 meters in width, with capacity for a 60-person crew. Its construction required over one million work hours and generated approximately 1,100 direct and indirect jobs over a three-year period, according to the company.

Equipped with advanced sensors, radar systems, electronic countermeasures, a 76 mm naval gun, and a missile launch system, the warship can also accommodate a helicopter. It is fitted with systems for launching surface-to-air missiles (SAM), surface-to-surface missiles (SSM), and a point defense missile system (PDMS).