Morocco’s state press agency has published a letter from King Mohammed VI to US President Donald Trump confirming that the country has renamed a major highway in his honour. The letter, dated 2 July but released over the weekend, described the naming as a personal expression of the king’s high regard for the American leader.
The renamed road, formerly known as the Tiznit-Dakhla highway, stretches 1,055 kilometers and serves as a key transportation link within Morocco. The route passes through Western Sahara, a disputed territory that Morocco occupies and claims sovereignty over, though the Polisario Front, an armed group representing the indigenous Sahrawi people, controls portions of the region and seeks independence.
In his correspondence, King Mohammed VI highlighted Trump’s “historic recognition” of Morocco’s sovereignty claims over Western Sahara, stating this achievement would remain significant to Moroccan citizens across generations. The monarch noted that bilateral relations between the two countries have reached unprecedented levels of vigour during Trump’s presidential terms. The 2020 US recognition of Morocco’s claims occurred as part of a diplomatic arrangement in which Morocco agreed to normalise relations with Israel.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony designated by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory, has been the subject of regional conflict for approximately five decades. The UN has consistently advocated for a resolution involving a referendum, though the territory’s indigenous population has never been permitted to vote on their political future. The African Union recognises Western Sahara’s independence, while some European nations, including the UK and Spain, have recently backed Morocco’s autonomy proposal that would stop short of granting full independence.
Trump previously acknowledged the highway renaming on social media, including a video stating the road cost nearly one billion dollars to construct. He expressed interest in travelling the full length of the highway in the future.
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