Morocco says Trump highway naming is mark of ‘deep appreciation’

• Moroccan King Mohammed VI named a US$1 billion highway after US President Donald Trump to show deep appreciation for his support.
• Trump's 2020 recognition of Moroccan rule over Western Sahara boosted Morocco-US relations significantly.
• The Western Sahara is a disputed, resource-rich territory claimed by Morocco and an independence movement backed by Algeria.

CAIRO – Moroccan King Mohammed VI said his decision to give US President Donald Trump’s name to a US$1 billion (S$1.28 billion) highway that crosses into the disputed Western Sahara expresses his “deep appreciation” of the American leader.

In a letter reported by state news agency MAP, the North African monarch confirmed the 1,055km expressway between Tiznit and the Western Sahara city of Dakhla will be called the Donald J. Trump Highway.

Hailing Trump’s “historic recognition” of Moroccan rule of the Western Sahara in 2020, the king said it “will forever be etched in the memory of Moroccans” and has “given unprecedented momentum to our bilateral relations”.

“To honour 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,” he wrote in the letter dated July 2.

A resource-rich territory about the size of the UK, the Western Sahara has been disputed by Morocco and an Algerian-backed independence movement since former colonial ruler Spain withdrew in 1975. The UN designates it a non-self-governing territory.

Trump recognised Morocco’s rule of Western Sahara near the end of his first term, as part of a deal that saw the kingdom that is a key US ally re-establish ties with Israel. BLOOMBERG