Morocco has named a highway connecting the south of the country to the Moroccan Sahara after US President Donald Trump, the official Moroccan news agency reported on Saturday.
The "Donald J. Trump Highway" refers to the expressway linking Tiznit and Dakhla, a stretch of road that forms part of a larger 1,055-kilometre route described by King Mohammed VI as "the largest road infrastructure in Africa."
In a message to Trump on July 2, King Mohammed VI said: "Your historic 2020 recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over its Sahara will remain engraved in the memory of Moroccans. In recognition of this favor stemming from a belief in the values of friendship and peace, and as an expression of my personal appreciation for you, I have decided to name one of the kingdom's largest highways after Your Excellency."
In December 2020, Trump announced his support for the Moroccan plan to grant the Moroccan Sahara autonomy under the kingdom's sovereignty.
The yet-to-be-completed project includes a highway connecting Tiznit to Laayoune, the heart of the Moroccan Sahara, extending to Dakhla, with an estimated cost of about 850 million euros (US$980 million).
