Amman – Mohammed Salem Echarkaoui, Acting Director of the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency (BMAQ), operating under the Al-Quds Committee chaired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, underscored that \u201cinvesting in the support of Jerusalem and its institutions constitutes both a moral duty and a humanitarian imperative, reflecting a steadfast commitment to safeguarding the city\u2019s identity and reinforcing the resilience of its inhabitants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Appearing on Monday evening as a guest on the Jordanian state television program Eye on Jerusalem, Mr. Echarkaoui reaffirmed\u00a0 that BMAQ remains fully committed to carrying out His Majesty King Mohammed VI\u2019s directives to sustain its work in Jerusalem under all circumstances. He also outlined the main pillars of the Agency\u2019s 2026 action plan for the Holy City.<\/p>\n
The BMAQ Director praised the enduring efforts of the Hashemite Custodianship over Jerusalem and its holy sites, acknowledging its pivotal role in safeguarding the city and preserving its profound religious and civilizational heritage.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a program devoted to the state of Jerusalem\u2019s commercial sector, Mr. Echarkaoui highlighted that the Agency has designed a comprehensive support program for Jerusalemite merchants, in partnership with the Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jerusalem, aimed at helping them adapt to evolving economic conditions and unlock new market opportunities for their products amid an increasingly complex and changing economic landscape.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that these initiatives are being undertaken at a time when the markets of Jerusalem\u2019s Old City are facing an unprecedented crisis\u2014one that has severely disrupted commercial activity, weakened purchasing power, and forced an increasing number of businesses to close down.<\/p>\n
Echarkaoui pointed out that addressing this reality requires moving beyond diagnosing the crisis toward offering practical solutions that take into account the changing nature of the challenges facing the city and its residents, emphasizing that financial support from all sources remains insufficient to meet all needs.<\/p>\n
He\u00a0 explained that the Agency adopts a multidimensional approach that combines direct social assistance with the development of sustainable, high-impact projects covering vital sectors such as education, health, culture, in addition to the economy.<\/p>\n
Among several practical initiatives, the Agency carried out a large-scale social assistance campaign during last Ramadan, valued at one million dollars. It involved procuring goods from local merchants and distributing shopping vouchers to families, helping to stimulate economic activity in the Old City, albeit in a limited way. In addition, the Agency launched the second phase of its vocational training program in import and export, aimed at strengthening merchants\u2019 skills and equipping them\u2014legally and technically\u2014to meet the demands of the modern market.<\/p>\n
Echarkaoui stated that the limited competitiveness of Palestinian products remains one of the most pressing challenges, largely driven by rising production costs and currency fluctuations. He emphasized that strengthening merchants\u2019 capacities and providing technical training are therefore just as crucial as financial support.<\/p>\n
He stressed that addressing Jerusalem\u2019s economic challenges calls for innovative approaches that extend beyond traditional charitable assistance. He also noted that the Agency has supported 34 youth-led Palestinian start-ups in the fields of innovation and renewal, some of which have successfully expanded into international markets, including Dubai, Italy, and beyond.<\/p>\n
Despite these interventions, Echarkaoui acknowledged that the needs in Jerusalem far outstrip available resources. He noted that many international pledges fail to materialize in practice, while Moroccan support stands out for its direct implementation on the ground and its tangible impact, even if modest in financial terms.<\/p>\n
He concluded by stressing that BMAQ\u2019s intervention extends beyond the economic sphere to include education and health, both closely linked to purchasing power and social stability. The Agency has built and rehabilitated about 1,300 classrooms and fully funded 10 schools under Moroccan support, endowed as an Islamic waqf for education in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Amman – Mohammed Salem Echarkaoui, Acting Director of the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency (BMAQ), operating under the Al-Quds Committee chaired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, underscored that \u201cinvesting in the support of Jerusalem and its institutions constitutes both a moral duty and a humanitarian imperative, reflecting a steadfast commitment to safeguarding the city\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-non-classifiee","category-26","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bmaq.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bmaq.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bmaq.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bmaq.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bmaq.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bmaq.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12287,"href":"https:\/\/www.bmaq.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12286\/revisions\/12287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bmaq.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bmaq.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bmaq.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bmaq.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}