Morocco names highway after Trump over Western Sahara dispute
Morocco has named a highway after United States President Donald Trump as a direct expression of gratitude for Washington’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara territory, according to Semafor.
The decision follows a formal US policy shift during Trump’s first term that acknowledged Rabat’s claim over Western Sahara, a sparsely populated stretch of desert and Atlantic coast that has been the subject of a decades-long territorial dispute. Under the arrangement, Morocco agreed to normalise relations with Israel, joining the Abraham Accords framework that has since been expanded by successive US administrations.
A long-running stand-off
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, has been largely administered by Morocco since 1975, when Madrid withdrew and Rabat moved troops into the territory. The Polisario Front, which seeks independence for the Sahrawi people, proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, an entity that is recognised by a number of states and holds observer status at the African Union. The United Nations continues to classify Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory, and successive envoys have spent years searching for a negotiated settlement that would allow the Sahrawi population to determine its own future.
Trump’s decision made the United States the first major Western power to formally back Morocco’s sovereignty claim, lending diplomatic weight to a long-standing Moroccan proposal to grant the territory autonomy under Moroccan rule. Since then, several other countries, including Israel and a number of African and Gulf states, have echoed that position, though several governments in Africa and Latin America continue to recognise the Sahrawi republic or maintain a neutral stance.
Naming infrastructure after foreign leaders is a familiar diplomatic gesture in Morocco. The move, as Semafor reported, places Trump among a small group of international figures honoured in the kingdom’s public space in recognition of actions Morocco credits with strengthening its territorial position.
Sources
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