The Managing Director of Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency, Mohamed Salem Echarkaoui, stated, on July 23, that the Agency is committed, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, to preserving the cultural heritage of Al-Quds, as a common heritage of humanity, and protecting the city’s identity and enshrining its legal status and its religious and civilizational character.
In an interview with the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Echarkaoui said that since its inception, Bayt Mal al-Quds Asharif Agency has been tasked with improving Palestinians’ social and economic conditions, supporting their institutions, and ensuring the right conditions for sustainable development in the city.
“The Agency’s in-depth knowledge of developments in Al-Quds has provided it with the necessary expertise to maintain a steady work pace, while also addressing the urgent demands imposed by the rapid transformations occurring across the region, including the security challenges that sometimes impair its activities,” explained the Managing Director.
In a similar context, Echarkaoui noted that Bayt Mal al-Quds Agency, which symbolizes the commitment of the Islamic Ummah to supporting the Holy City, is always in need of financial support to fulfill its missions of protecting the Holy City’s cultural heritage and supporting the Maqdessis’ resistance, particularly since it has proved that it can implement larger and more significant projects with the sufficient financial capacity.
In this regard, Echarkaoui noted that over the mid-term, between 15.000 and 20.000 homes will be built in the Old Town, while 28 new schools and 20 kindergartens are to be established in different parts of the city.
Echarkaoui also explained that the Agency, as a financial institution, is subject to internal control mechanisms that oversee the adoption, implementation, and monitoring of projects under the authority of the Supervisory Committee and the Board of Directors, adding that the institution ensures that aid reaches rightly deserving recipients, in full compliance with local laws.
The Moroccan official also stressed that “attempts to alter the Holy City’s identity and change its legal status will inevitably end in failure, as this city will remain a civilizational center of humanity bringing together the followers of monotheistic religions and uniting them around the values of coexistence.”
In a similar context, Echarkaoui cautioned that “the worrying economic and social situation in al-Quds can only be addressed by a concerted Arab, Islamic, and international determination to support the affected sectors, by providing adequate, tangible, and sustainable assistance to the institutions in the Holy City to enable them to perform their tasks effectively.”
Echarkaoui concluded that the Agency’s record of achievements is very positive, exceeding, over the past twenty-five years, 200 major projects and hundreds of medium and small projects, with an estimated value of USD 64 million.
