American Legation in Tangier Listed by U.S. National Trust for Historic Preservation

Moroccan-American longstanding friendship, strategic alliance, and shared history have been honored by the U.S. National Trust for Historic Preservation which listed the American Legation in Tangiers among this year’s eleven most endangered American historic sites.

Speaking during a ceremony held Wednesday in Washington, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma praised the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s selection of the American Legation in Tangier, saying the building remains a symbol of the friendship between America and Morocco over 200 years later.

Moroccan ambassador to the United States Youssef Amrani voiced Morocco’s commitment to preserving this emblematic building which demonstrates the special and deep historic ties existing between the two countries.

“We have the longest unbroken Treaty of friendship and our alliance is gaining momentum thanks to King Mohammed VI leadership and constant commitment to a strategic partnership’’, said the ambassador, noting that the American Legation in Tangier represents the values of openness, coexistence, and dialogue shared by the two countries.

The Legation served for 140 years as a U.S. diplomatic post and is now home to the private, non-profit Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies, housing a museum, research library, and cultural center.

On this occasion, Ms. Andrea Cochrane Tracey, Director of the Fund to Conserve United States Diplomatic Treasures Abroad announced the aim to establish a $10 million preservation endowment to maintain the building’s structural integrity and to provide it with maintenance and operating funding.