Morocco was the first country to recognize U.S. independence during the American Revolution, doing so in 1777.
Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah opened Moroccan ports to American ships and treated them like vessels from established nations. This was an important gesture toward the struggling new country, which had limited diplomatic power and no strong navy.
The recognition was initially implicit rather than formal. A Treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed in 1786 and ratified by the Confederation Congress in 1787. That distinction causes a common mix-up: Morocco recognized the United States in 1777, but the formal treaty relationship came later.
Morocco’s connection with the United States remains historically significant. The treaty relationship, renewed in 1836, is widely described as America’s longest continuous treaty relationship.