United States President Donald Trump announced via social media that Morocco had named a significant highway in his honor, thanking King Mohammed VI and expressing interest in traveling on the route. The Moroccan government has not publicly confirmed the designation.
The Tiznit-Dakhla highway, which became fully operational in January after a decade of construction, spans approximately 1,055 kilometers and connects southern Morocco with Mauritania. The $1 billion infrastructure project runs through Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, linking cities including Laayoune and the Dakhla Peninsula, where Morocco is developing a major Atlantic port facility.
Experts note the gesture aligns with Morocco’s strategic relationship with the Trump administrations. Morocco was a signatory to the Abraham Accords in 2020, which normalized relations between the country and Israel. In return, the US provided diplomatic support for Morocco’s position on Western Sahara, including sponsoring a UN Security Council resolution in October 2025 endorsing Morocco’s autonomy proposal for the disputed territory. Analysts suggest the timing may relate to Morocco’s ambitions to co-host the 2030 World Cup final or simply reflect the highway’s recent completion.
The highway forms part of Morocco’s broader infrastructure development strategy in Western Sahara, a UN-designated non-self-governing territory where Morocco has invested heavily in roads, ports and other projects over the past two decades. The territory remains disputed between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks independence. A 1991 UN-brokered ceasefire was intended to lead to a self-determination referendum, but the process remains deadlocked over voter eligibility disputes. The conflict has frozen since the Polisario Front declared an end to the ceasefire in November 2020.
Morocco’s infrastructure investments, including the highway, are viewed by analysts as efforts to strengthen its control over the phosphate- and fisheries-rich territory. Recent diplomatic developments include Washington-facilitated talks in Madrid and a US Department of Commerce announcement to fund an ammonium project in Western Sahara, marking the first such US commercial investment in the disputed region.
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