Morocco names 1,000km highway after Trump

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has confirmed in a letter dated 2 July that a major highway has been renamed in honour of US President Donald Trump, BBC News reported.

Morocco’s state press agency published the letter after Trump thanked the king last week in a social media post, at a time when Moroccan authorities had not made a parallel announcement. The king said the name change was taking place as “a personal expression of my high regard”.

The road was formerly called the Tiznit-Dakhla highway and enters Western Sahara. King Mohammed described the 1,055km (655-mile) road as a “strategic axis” linking the “north and south of Morocco”.

In the letter, the king highlighted Trump’s “historic recognition... of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara”, saying it would “forever be etched in the memory of Moroccans, from generation to generation”. He added: “Although our relations have always been rooted in close friendship and constant loyalty, they have never been as vigorous and fruitful as during your two presidential terms,” according to BBC News.

Trump’s Truth Social post included a video saying the road cost nearly $1bn to build. He wrote: “I look forward to traveling the entire length of this great highway someday, hopefully soon!”

Morocco occupies most of Western Sahara and claims sovereignty over it, while part is controlled by the Polisario Front, an armed group seeking independence for the Sahrawi people. In 2020, during the first Trump administration, the US recognised Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara as part of a deal in which Morocco agreed to normalise relations with Israel.

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that the UN considers a “non-self-governing territory”, has been fought over for five decades.