What country was the first to recognise the United States of America as an independent nation?

Relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States of America date back to the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and specifically since 1777 when Morocco under Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah became the first country in the world to recognize the independence of the United States.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Morocco-and-recognition-of-the-United-States

Morocco on June 23, 1777 - more than six months before France recognised the United States of America as an independent nation.

Morocco implicitly recognized the United States in 1777, after Sultan Mohammed III signed a decree granting American ships protection and free access to Moroccan ports. The Sultan previously expressed his desire to be a "friend of the Americans". Morocco formally recognized the United States on June 23, 1786, when a treaty of peace and friendship was signed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_date_of_recognition_of_the_United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccan%E2%80%93American_Treaty_of_Friendship

Right,

But that is not de jure, just de facto. We need to recognize that France was the first official treaty made with the USA, and therefore the first on paper acknowledgement that the USA was soverign this was six YEARS before Morocco officially recognized the USA. The first official "living" recognition was by the Netherlands on April 19, 1782 with a salute, four YEARS before Morocco officially recognized. Therefore, while the sultan might have talked a good game, he didn't do much but spit until 1786.

As above
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_date_of_recognition_of_the_United_States

Treaty of 1786
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccan%E2%80%93American_Treaty_of_Friendship