Belgium has welcomed the message addressed by U.S. President Donald J. Trump to King Mohammed VI, with its defense minister describing Morocco as a country of strategic importance.
“Morocco is a country of crucial importance,” Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken wrote Sunday on X.
His comments came in response to the message and video posted by President Trump on Truth Social, announcing that the expressway linking Tiznit to Dakhla would bear his name. As previously reported, the U.S. president thanked King Mohammed VI for the decision, writing, “Thank you to the Highly Respected Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco. Such a Great Honor! I look forward to traveling the entire length of this Great Highway someday, hopefully soon!”
The post was accompanied by a video titled Donald J. Trump Highway: The Road of Peace Toward Prosperity, outlining the project’s scope, purpose and technical features.
Referring to the scale of the Donald J. Trump Highway—a 1,055-kilometer expressway built at a cost of nearly $1 billion and expected to generate significant economic spillovers—Francken welcomed the project, saying that Morocco is becoming increasingly aligned with the West, a development he described as ‘interesting for NATO.’
Morocco and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have maintained a longstanding strategic partnership since joining the Mediterranean Dialogue in 1994. Although not a NATO member, the Kingdom has enjoyed the status of a Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States since 2004, strengthening military cooperation with Alliance members.
That partnership is reflected in regular joint military exercises, including African Lion, the largest military drills held on the African continent, as well as close cooperation on counterterrorism, maritime security and border management, positioning Morocco as a key pillar of stability and security across North Africa, the Sahel and the Mediterranean.
“It is an African country of crucial importance,” Francken reiterated, adding: “We are looking forward to our trade mission!”
Queen Mathilde of Belgium is set to lead a Belgian trade mission to Morocco during the first half of 2027, Belgian news agency Belga reported in May, citing the Belgian Royal Palace.
Since formally backing Morocco’s autonomy plan and explicitly framing its position within the Kingdom’s sovereignty over the Sahara, Belgium has emerged as one of Europe’s most resolute supporters of Morocco’s territorial integrity.
That position was formalized during the visit to Rabat of Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade Maxime Prévot.
Speaking in Rabat on March 2, Prévot stated, “The Moroccan autonomy initiative for negotiating a status of autonomy, presented in 2007 under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, which provides for the region to remain within the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco and its national unity, constitutes for the Kingdom of Belgium the most serious, the most appropriate, the most credible and the most realistic basis for achieving a just and lasting political solution. It is in light of this conviction that Belgium now acts diplomatically and economically in line with this position.”
That stance forms part of a broader diplomatic momentum that has been building in recent months and opens a new chapter in relations between Rabat and Brussels.
