US President Donald Trump has said Morocco named a highway linking Tiznit and Dakhla after him, a claimed tribute that analysts link to Morocco's wider ambitions in the disputed Western Sahara.
The road runs south from the town of Tiznit towards Dakhla, a coastal city in Western Sahara, and has been presented by Morocco as a flagship development project.
The claim drew attention largely because of the road's route through territory whose status remains contested. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the naming, and details of any official designation were not set out.
“Infrastructure in Western Sahara is never just about roads; it is also about asserting a claim to the land.”
Morocco controls most of Western Sahara and regards it as part of its territory, while the Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeks independence for the area.
In 2020, the United States recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara as part of an agreement under which Morocco normalised relations with Israel.
“Infrastructure in Western Sahara is never just about roads; it is also about asserting a claim,” said one North Africa analyst.
Morocco has invested heavily in ports, roads and energy projects in the territory, aiming to position it as a gateway to West Africa.
The dispute has its roots in Spain's withdrawal as colonial power in 1975, and a ceasefire agreed in 1991 included plans for a referendum on the territory's future that has never taken place.
Supporters of Sahrawi self-determination argue that such projects entrench a disputed status quo, and the United Nations continues to list the territory as non-self-governing.
The episode illustrates how symbolic gestures and diplomacy are closely intertwined in a long-running dispute that remains unresolved.
