US President Donald Trump awarded on Friday, January 15, the Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, to King Mohammed VI, reads a White House statement. The prestigious decoration was awarded to the King of Morocco for «his more than two decades of leadership», the statement explained. «His vision and personal courage—including his decision to resume ties with the State of Israel—have positively reshaped the landscape of the Middle East and North Africa and ushered in a new era of security and prosperity for both our countries and the world». White House statement The rarely-awarded decoration was accepted by Morocco's ambassador to the United States Lalla Joumalla Alaoui on behalf of the King during a private ceremony. On the same day, the diplomat gave Trump the Order of Muhammad, Morocco's highest award. King Mohammed VI awarded the latter to the US President for his work in brokering the normalization deal between Israel and Morocco. King Mohammed VI grants Donald Trump Morocco's highest award For the record, Morocco and Israel agreed to reestablish diplomatic ties and reopen liaison offices in both Rabat and Tel Aviv following a deal brokered by the United States. On the same day, the United States recognized Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara with a presidential decree.
