Managing director of the Bayt Mal Al Quds Asharif Agency, Mohamed Salem Echerkaoui, stressed on Monday in Jeddah that the action taken by the Agency, an offshoot of Al-Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in the service of Al-Quds and its inhabitants, pursuant to the High Royal Instructions and under the Sovereign’s direct Supervision, stems from its understanding of the profound changes that the city and the entire region are undergoing.
Speaking at a panel as part of the 2024 Al-Quds Conference organized by the OIC in Jeddah titled « Al-Quds and the War on Gaza: Palestinian Identity and Existence under the Threat of Obliteration,” Cherkaoui noted that the international community’s commitment to law, freedom and justice must materialize into tangible actions leading into peace and stability in the Middle East.
In this respect, Cherkaoui quoted the speech delivered by HM King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, Chairman of the Al Quds Committee, on the occasion of the official welcome of His Holiness Pope Francis on March 30, 2019, in which the Sovereign stressed that “to tackle radicalism, the solution is neither military nor financial; that solution has but one name: Education.”
The world is undergoing profound changes at all levels – economic, epidemiological, climatic and demographic – which must be taken into account to build a prosperous future for upcoming generations, he said, adding that the Agency has adopted a proactive approach at Al-Quds based on a digitalization strategy to achieve the much-awaited sustainable development for the city’s inhabitants.
He stressed that the Agency’s approach is based on rationalizing the funds provided by the Kingdom of Morocco, which remains the sole funder of this institution, and allocating them to the realization of concrete and relevant projects in the fields of health, education, culture, heritage protection, human development and social assistance, in order to improve life indicators in Al-Quds.
Although these efforts remain insufficient, they can be a basis for achieving better results, through a continued commitment to rationalizing resources and taking initiatives, within the framework of consultation and cooperation with the various partners in the Holy City, he added.
