Morocco names major highway after Trump amid dispute over Western Sahara

News Morocco names major highway after Trump amid dispute over Western Sahara Comments: by Ashleigh Fields - 08/03/26 2:36 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Ashleigh Fields - 08/03/26 2:36 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Morocco recently named a highway that spans more than 1,055 kilometers after President Trump, citing his decision to recognize Rabat’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara as the reason for the nod.

“While our relations have always been rooted in close friendship and loyalty, they have never been as vibrant and as fruitful as they have during your two terms as President,” Morocco’s King Mohammed VI wrote in a letter to the president dated July 2, according to Bloomberg.

“To honor this mark of friendship and peace, and as a personal expression of my deep appreciation, I have taken the decision to name one of the Kingdom’s most significant highways after you, calling it the ‘Donald J. Trump Highway,’” the king added.

The highway serves as a connector to other African countries and marks a clear economic route for businesses from Tiznit, Morocco, to Dakhla, which is considered by some as part of the Western Sahara.

Sovereignty over the Western Sahara territory has been highly disputed by both Morocco and the Indigenous Sahrawi people, who refer to the land as a self-state known as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

The SADR is backed by an armed resistance movement led by the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, which formed to oppose Spanish colonial rule.

The United States and the European Union do not recognize SADR’s designation as a self-state, while 47 other United Nations member-states do.

In his first term, Trump recognized the Kingdom of Morocco as the sovereign government of the territory. The decision was part of an agreement that would normalize bilateral relations between Israel and Morocco to form the Abraham Accords.

The U.N. maintains that it’s a non-self-governing territory but has frequently sought a resolution for the decades-long dispute.

King Mohammad wrote that U.S.-Moroccan relations have never been as “vibrant” and “fruitful” as they were during both of Trump’s presidential terms.

Trump said he was grateful to be the namesake of the Moroccan highway and couldn’t wait to visit.

“Thank you to Highly Respected Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco — Such a Great Honor! I look forward to traveling the entire length of this Great Highway someday, hopefully soon,” Trump wrote in a recent post on Truth Social.

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