Political Quotes

“I would like to take this occasion to extend congratulations to His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the people of Morocco on the 225th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco. Negotiations for this treaty began in 1783 and the draft was signed in 1786. Future Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the American signatories. The treaty was then presented to the Senate, which ratified it on July 18, 1787, making it the first treaty to receive U.S. Senate ratification. The treaty represented the second time that Morocco and the United States affirmed diplomatic relations between the two countries. It is also worthy of mention that that Sultan, Mohammed III, was the first head of state, and Morocco the first country, to recognize the new United States as an independent country in 1777. The Treaty of Peace and Friendship, whose anniversary we commemorate this month, provided for the United States' diplomatic representation in Morocco and open commerce at any Moroccan port on the basis of ``most favored nation.'' It also established the principle of non- hostility when either country was engaged in war with any other nation. Most importantly, the treaty provided for the protection of U.S. shipping vessels at a time when American merchant ships were at risk of harassment by various European warships.…”