The event, held recently in the US capital, was attended by Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson, along with Representatives Bill Keating (Massachusetts), John Moolenaar (Michigan), Stephen Lynch (Massachusetts) and Morgan Griffith (Virginia).
A number of prominent figures from the American political landscape also took part in the gathering, organized by the Adams Memorial Foundation, whose mission is to preserve the legacy of the second US president, John Adams, one of the signatories of the 1786 Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the Kingdom of Morocco.
On the occasion, the foundation’s president, Jackie Gingrich Cushman, praised the “enduring friendship” between Morocco and the United States, which dates back to the earliest days of American independence and represents one of the “most extraordinary” chapters in U.S. history.
The origins of a historic friendship
Cushman recalled that Morocco, under the reign of Sultan Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah, became the first nation in the world to recognize the independence of the United States in 1777. A few years later, American diplomats John Adams and Thomas Jefferson negotiated and signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Morocco, the oldest unbroken treaty in US history that remains in force today.
“That founding act of bilateral diplomacy, in which John Adams played a direct and decisive role, helped secure American trade routes, protect our ships and sailors, and establish the young republic on the international stage,” she said.
“It embodies the very spirit of statesmanship, vision and international partnership that the Adams family has carried forward through the generations. We are deeply grateful for the enduring friendship between our two nations, born in those earliest days,” Cushman added.
Morocco’s ambassador to Washington, Youssef Amrani, for his part, highlighted the future prospects of Morocco-US relations and what he described as their “unparalleled potential” for growth, expansion and deeper cooperation.
“Our Treaty of Peace and Friendship remains the oldest treaty still in force in the history of the United States. But the true strength of this relationship lies in its ability to reinvent itself without ever betraying its roots,” the ambassador said.
“Despite political transitions, geopolitical disruptions and shifts in the global order, the Morocco-US partnership has continued to grow stronger. Its cornerstone remains trust,” he added.
Amrani also stressed that, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI and thanks to the commitment of President Donald Trump, “this bilateral relationship is now entering a new phase of strategic acceleration.”
“The political, security, economic and technological interests of our two countries are converging as never before,” he said, adding that “the value of an alliance is measured by its actions, not its words.”
