Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship

The Moroccan–American Treaty of Peace and Friendship, also known as the Treaty of Marrakesh, was a bilateral agreement signed in 1786 that established diplomatic and commercial relations between the United States and Morocco. It was the first treaty between the U.S. and an African, Muslim nation and initiated what as of 2025 remains the longest unbroken diplomatic relationship in U.S. history.

Nearly a decade before the treaty, on 20 December 1777, Moroccan Sultan Mohammed III, decreed that American ships could freely enter his kingdom's ports and enjoy safe passage through its waters; and became the first head of state to publicly recognize U.S. independence during the American Revolutionary War.

Following several overtures by the Sultan, and with the urging of John Adams, John Jay, and Benjamin Franklin, in 1785 the U.S. Congress authorized negotiations for a treaty with Morocco. American diplomat Thomas Barclay was chosen to represent the U.S., and with the aid and backing of Spain, met his Moroccan counterpart, Tahir Fannish, in Marrakesh in June 1786. The treaty was finalized within days of Barclay's arrival, sealed by Mohammed III, and signed by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams at their respective diplomatic posts in Paris and London; Congress ratified the treaty on 18 July 1787, which was to last fifty years.