Morocco has confirmed it has renamed a major highway after US President Donald Trump, after a letter from King Mohammed VI to the president was published by the state press agency. The gesture follows Trump's own social media announcement last week, which had not been matched by an official Moroccan statement at the time, and appears linked to Washington's continued backing of Rabat's contested claim over Western Sahara. The move highlights the closeness of US-Moroccan relations and the significance both countries attach to the unresolved territorial dispute.

The road, formerly known as the Tiznit-Dakhla highway, stretches 1,055km (655 miles) and passes through Western Sahara, a territory Morocco largely controls but which is also partly held by the pro-independence Polisario Front. In his letter, dated 2 July, King Mohammed thanked Trump for the US's 2020 recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the region, a decision made in exchange for Morocco normalising relations with Israel. Western Sahara remains one of Africa's longest-running conflicts, with the UN classing it a non-self-governing territory and calling for a referendum that has never taken place; the African Union recognises its independence, while countries such as the UK and Spain back Morocco's autonomy plan instead.