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Marrakech – The Florida Senate has adopted a resolution recognizing Rabat’s deepening cooperation with the state. This comes as Morocco and the United States are marking their 250-year-old relationship, the oldest uninterrupted diplomatic bond in the Americas’ history.
The resolution, codenamed “SR 1798,” was sponsored by Republican Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez and filed on February 9. It was then introduced, read a second time, and adopted on February 11.
According to the legislative document, diplomatic relations between Morocco and the US “date back more than two centuries to 1777, when Morocco became the first nation to recognize the independence of the United States.”
The relationship was later formalized through the 1786 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, described as “one of the oldest unbroken treaties in U.S. diplomatic history.”
The resolution acknowledges that the bilateral partnership received significant reinforcement through “the historic proclamation of President Donald J. Trump in December 2020, recognizing the full sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over its Sahara.”
This decision strengthened “the strategic alliance between the two nations and paving the way for a new era of cooperation in peace, security, and regional development.”
Under King Mohammed VI’s leadership, Morocco launched the Royal Initiative for Atlantic Cooperation, also known as the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation. The resolution describes this as “an ambitious framework enabling Morocco to deepen political, economic, and cultural ties between Africa and the Americas.”
Recent diplomatic developments have injected new momentum into Morocco-Florida relations, elevating them from routine engagement to a strategically energized partnership marked by growing political, economic, and institutional alignment.
Florida is the third-most populous US state, with about 24.3 million residents, and the fourth-largest economy at roughly $1.7 trillion GDP – a scale that would place it around 15th globally if it were a country.
Florida elevates Morocco as a transatlantic partner
In June 2025, the North African country inaugurated its Consulate General in Miami, the state’s capital, “marking a historic milestone in Moroccan-American relations and underscoring Morocco’s commitment to strengthening diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties with the State of Florida.”
The resolution outlines a dense network of partnership agreements concluded in 2025. In October, Casablanca-Settat Region President Abdellatif Maazouz and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a Sister Cities agreement designed to “advance cooperation in trade, investment, innovation, sustainability, and cultural exchange.”
At the commercial level, cooperation was further consolidated through a tripartite agreement signed simultaneously by the Casablanca-Settat Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Services, the American Chamber of Commerce in Florida, and CAMACOL.
This memorandum seeks to promote “business collaboration, investment opportunities, and private sector exchanges between Morocco and Florida,” anchoring public diplomacy in tangible private-sector engagement.
Earlier sister-city initiatives have also reinforced bilateral ties. In November 2023, Hollywood and Laayoune formalized a Sister City agreement aimed at “promot[ing] mutual understanding and collaboration in such areas as tourism, culture, education, and sustainable development,” further embedding local diplomacy into the broader bilateral framework.
The resolution situates these partnerships within Morocco’s wider economic positioning, pointing out the kingdom’s role as “a committed member of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” and noting that Morocco “stands as a vital gateway for enhanced partnership and mutually beneficial trade and investment between Africa and the United States.”
Economic cooperation is further underpinned by the 2004 United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (FTA), branded as “the only such agreement the United States has concluded with an African country,” which “continues to foster economic and commercial cooperation, making Morocco one of America’s key trade partners in Africa.”
Maritime cooperation, the resolution notes, rests on long-standing foundations. In October 2002, the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami-Dade County and the Port of Casablanca signed a Sister Seaports agreement promoting “maritime connectivity, logistics cooperation, and exchange of expertise, reinforcing both ports’ strategic roles as gateways for transatlantic trade among North America, Africa, and Europe.”
Cultural and people-to-people exchanges have expanded in parallel, supported by the consulate in Miami. The resolution highlights “ongoing cultural and diaspora exchanges… [that] have continued to enhance mutual understanding and foster closer relations between Moroccan and Floridian communities.”
Taken together, the Florida Senate formally affirms Morocco “as a strategic bridge between Africa, Europe, and the Americas,” welcoming deeper cooperation across “trade, maritime industries, tourism, green energy, and education.”
It ultimately recognizes “the importance of the Kingdom of Morocco’s business, trade, and cultural cooperation with the State of Florida and the enduring diplomatic, business, and cultural ties between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States of America.”
