Morocco names Tiznit-Dakhla highway after Trump: Why it matters

Published 31 July 2026 · us

The claimed tribute to Trump forms part of Morocco’s larger ambitions in the disputed Western Sahara. The announcement by United States President Donald Trump that

The claimed tribute to Trump forms part of Morocco’s larger ambitions in the disputed Western Sahara. The announcement by United States President Donald Trump that Morocco had named an important highway after him came as a surprise to many, not least because Rabat itself has remained silent. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump thanked Morocco’s monarch, King Mohammed VI, and said he looked forward to travelling on the “Great Highway one day”. If confirmed, however, experts say the gesture would be far from surprising. Morocco and the US have long enjoyed close ties, and both of Trump’s administrations were particularly beneficial for Rabat. Morocco was one of the signatories to the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords, which saw the country normalise relations with US ally Israel in 2020. In return, the Trump administration provided crucial support at the United Nations and through bilateral channels, bringing Rabat closer to securing greater control over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. “So absolutely, it makes perfect sense that Morocco would do something like this for Trump, who single-handedly moved that case forward – the only American administration to give Morocco what it always wanted, which is much clearer support on Western Sahara,” analyst Intissar Fakir of the Middle East Institute told Al Jazeera. What is more striking, she said, is the timing. The Trump administration a resolution endorsing Morocco’s position at the UN Security Council (UNSC) in October 2025. So why is the recognition coming now? “In my opinion, this is tied to Morocco’s ambitions to host the football final of the 2030 World Cup,” Fakir said, referring to the tournament that will be cohosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Alternatively, she said, it may simply be that the section of the highway reportedly dedicated to Trump has only recently been completed. What is clear, however, is that the highway forms part of a broader network of infrastructure projects aimed at strengthening Morocco’s hold over the long-disputed territory, where an independence struggle has continued for five decades in what is widely regarded as a frozen conflict.

A highway for Rabat’s ambitions After a decade of construction, the Tiznit-Dakhla highway became fully operational in January. The 1,055km (655.5-mile) highway links southern Morocco with Mauritania and carries a price tag of about $1bn. It runs from Tiznit through Guelmim and Tan-Tan before reaching Laayoune, the main city in Morocco-controlled Western Sahara, and continues south to the Dakhla Peninsula, where Morocco is building the Dakhla Atlantic Port. Rabat has long sought to use its position between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to establish itself as a regional trade gateway, connecting Europe with Africa and the Sahel through land and sea routes. Since 2023, Morocco has what it calls the Atlantic Initiative, offering Atlantic port access to landlocked Sahel countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Between 2004 and 2024, African exports through Morocco rose from $300m to $3bn, according to the German think tank Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. Rabat was also among the first countries to sign the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement in 2018, giving it access to the continent’s tariff-free single market. The long-disputed territory Crucially, the Trump Highway runs through Western Sahara, a UN-designated non-self-governing territory that Morocco calls its “southern provinces” and where it has invested heavily in roads, ports and other infrastructure over the past two decades. Analysts say those projects are part of a broader effort to strengthen Morocco’s hold over the disputed territory. Morocco claims the phosphate- and fisheries-rich former Spanish colony, while the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks independence for Western Sahara, declared the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) after Spain withdrew in 1975. A 16-year war followed, forcing hundreds of thousands of Sahrawis to flee to refugee camps around Tindouf in western Algeria. UN humanitarian agencies estimate that about 173,600 Sahrawi refugees live in the camps, though Morocco disputes those figures and has long called on the UN to conduct a census there.