Speaking at the MAP forum, held under the theme "The Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency: 25 years of actions in the service of Al-Quds and its inhabitants" with the director in charge of the management of the Agency, Mohamed Salem Echarkaoui, as a guest, the Palestinian diplomat also highlighted the action carried out by the Agency, under the supervision and the high benevolence of HM King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, in support of the Holy City's inhabitants in all aspects of life.

Morocco is a historical partner of Palestine regarding the question of Al-Quds, he said, welcoming the accompaniment and support of the Kingdom to the Palestinian proposals during the last meeting of the League of Arab States.
 

Despite limited funding in recent years, the Agency has managed to maintain the regular pace of implementation of projects, with a budget of between 3.5 and 5 million dollars, said Echarkaoui who was the guest of the Forum of MAP, held under the theme "The Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency: 25 years of actions in the service of Al-Quds and its inhabitants," referring to the difficult working conditions in the Holy City dictated by its specificity, but also the political, social and administrative complexities, in addition to the attempts of the occupier to impose the fait accompli.

He also said that the contributing states have stopped their financial contributions since 2011, noting that the Kingdom remains the only donor (100 pc) in terms of state donations and up to 70 pc in terms of donations from institutions and individuals.

Over the past 25 years, the Agency has received some $64.9 million in grants, including $22.3 million in government grants with a Moroccan contribution of 75%, $27.1 million in institutional grants and $15.5 million in individual grants, Echarkaoui said.

He attributed the suspension of funding to geostrategic challenges in the region, calling for Arab, Islamic and international support to the affected sectors including tourism, housing and employment, through ensuring consistent and sustainable support to institutions in the Holy City by providing them with the means to enable them to continue their missions.

Echarkaoui referred, in this context, to the Palestinian plan to support social sectors as a suitable framework for funding established following a broad consultation with the institutions and representatives of the population, noting that the Agency has spared no effort to contact the bodies and institutions concerned, through the bodies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to request support to enable the Agency to continue the implementation of projects programmed in Al Quds.

The director in charge of the management of the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency also stressed the need to build between 15,000 and 20,000 housing units in the old city, the construction or acquisition of 28 schools with a capacity of 864 classrooms, the setting up of 20 kindergartens spread over the regions of Al-Quds, the equipment of care centers in specialized hospitals and support their operating budgets.

It is also a question of creating recreational spaces including cultural centers and sports fields, supporting women's associations to promote their empowerment and enable them to develop their capacity in trades and income-generating projects, restoring 3,000 buildings including historical sites, mosques and cathedrals, repairing Muslim cemeteries and other socio-economic dependencies in order to preserve the cultural and civilizational heritage of the Holy City.

The cost of the projects carried out reached 64 million dollars, spread over several sectors such as housing, health and education, in addition to social assistance projects for orphans, widows, the elderly and those with disabilities, said Echarkaoui who was the guest of the MAP Forum, held under the theme "The Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency: 25 years of actions in the service of Al-Quds and its inhabitants."

The Agency has also focused its action on developing the skills of Holy City's inhabitants, he said, noting that a program on human development has been established with empowerment and capacity building projects dedicated to women and youth.

It also pays special attention to social assistance programs for various categories impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as launched the e-commerce platform "DLALA Marketstore" of Palestinian products made available, within a framework of solidarity, to traders and associations and which the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency is the first customer.

Echarkaoui said that the Agency has also established the club "children for Al-Quds", dedicated to projects and activities of children, summer camps and awards and organized a simulation of the international summit of children for Al-Quds, with the participation of students from the Holy City and their counterparts from different nationalities.

He added that the Agency ensures, moreover, the development of its programs and projects on the basis of updated indicators of the social and economic situation in the city of Al-Quds, provided by the Observatory "Arribat" for observation, monitoring and evaluation, which is a mechanism under the Agency, whose mission is to carry out studies and periodic reports that shed light on the various facets of development in the Holy City.

This meeting, which coincides with the celebration of the silver jubilee of the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency, was an opportunity to highlight the achievements of the Agency over the past 25 years.

This strong impetus makes the Agency, with all its commitments, an institution of humanitarian nature that has socio-economic objectives and has the duty to contribute, within the framework of its prerogatives and within the limits of its means, to serve the Holy City and its population, stressed Echarkaoui who was the guest of MAP Forum, held under the theme "The Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency: 25 years of actions in the service of Al-Quds and its inhabitants".

He pointed out that the Agency, which plays its role as a coordinating mechanism par excellence of Arab-Islamic support dedicated to the Holy City, has achieved success in managing funds by directing them to the projects for which they were intended, noting that its action continues to grow stronger thanks to an important moral capital represented by the presence on the ground of the team of the Agency which shares with the Al Quds inhabitants, their daily sufferings and whose members, Moroccans and Palestinians, encounter the same difficulties.

All those who follow the situation on the ground are now convinced that plans to alter the identity of the Holy City and change its legal status are doomed to failure, he said, noting that Al Quds has been and will always remain the civilizational cradle of humanity where all followers of monotheistic religions gather in unity and sharing of the values of coexistence and otherness.

The natural, economic, demographic and environmental imbalance of the Holy City only complicates the daily life of the Palestinians and reduces the chances of a decent life for the rising generations, which translates into resentment pushing young people to brave all the dangers, while the Palestinians are only defending their right to live in their territory in freedom and dignity, Ercharkaoui stressed.

The MAP forum was an opportunity to emphasize the roles of the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency in preserving the legal status and the civilizational, historical and religious identity of the Holy City.

This meeting also addressed the importance of economic and social projects piloted by the Agency for the benefit of the inhabitants of Al-Quds for the improvement of their living conditions and the development of their city.

Ambassador Mohamed Arrouchi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom to the AU and the UNECA, who was speaking on Monday at a videoconference meeting of the PRC, recalled the reform process underway within the AU, while reiterating the support of Morocco to the various departments and bodies of the Union to enable them to effectively carry out their mandates, through ensuring the strengthening of the effectiveness and efficiency of the pan-African organization to better meet the aspirations of the African citizen, especially in peace, security and development.

Arrouchi, who is leading the Moroccan delegation at this session, also called on the Committee and the AU bodies to establish a financial management that reflects the spirit of the current institutional and financial reform.

The Moroccan diplomat noted in this regard the importance of an internal management of projects and programs that is focused on results, in compliance with the rules and procedures.

The Moroccan delegation also emphasized the importance of a credible intergovernmental process capable of supporting the Committee in the implementation of the objectives of the AU Agenda 2063.

This meeting will be held immediately after the oral question session, scheduled from 3 p.m., and a plenary session, devoted to the examination and vote of legislative texts, the upper house said in a statement.

The Madrid team, four-time winners of the trophy, will meet in the semi-finals on Wednesday evening (8 p.m.) at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, the Egyptian club Al Ahly, which has validated its ticket to the last four at the expense of the Americans of Seattle Sounders.

The winner of this match will meet either Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia or Flamengo of Brazil, which will play the other semi-final, scheduled for Tuesday in Tangier.

A few minutes after the opening, the MASI 20, which includes the 20 most liquid stocks, gained 0.78% to 836.52 points, and the MASI ESG, an index of companies with the best ESG rating, rose 0.69% to 792.97 points.

On Monday, the MASI closed slightly lower by 0.1%.

According to a statement from the diplomatic mission, the embassy has asked callers to provide their own names and phone numbers in addition to those of the people they are looking for and the cities where they live. Copies of identification and passports would be helpful.

This information, which could be provided via email or WhatsApp, will allow the embassy's crisis cell to communicate with the Turkish authorities in this regard, the same source said.

The cities affected by the earthquakes are Kahramanmaraş, Adana, Adıyaman, Hatay, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Kilis and Osmaniye.

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Ankara announces that it can be reached at the following landline numbers: 00903124376020 and 00903124376021.

The diplomatic mission can also be reached via cell phone and WhatsApp at 00905346871318, 00905550372743, 00905349205305 or via email at ambassademarocankara@gmail.com/ marocamb.ankara@maec.gov.ma.

The preliminary death toll from the earthquake is 1,541 with more than 9,500 injured, according to the Turkish government's disaster management agency (AFAD).

"2022 marks a milestone for Morocco-Germany economic cooperation, which is now taking on a new dimension," the AHK Morocco said in a statement.

"Thus, total German-Moroccan bilateral trade reached 4.9 billion euros in 2022, placing the Kingdom 57th in the global ranking of Germany's economic partners, ahead of Tunisia (58th) and Algeria (62nd)," the AHK Morocco said in a statement.

For this "record year that puts all indicators in the green to start the year 2023 under the best auspices," German exports to Morocco have reached 2.8 billion, up 30% compared to 2021, said the same source, noting that this is a considerable progress, among the strongest compared to other countries.

This remarkable result is also supported by a robust increase in Moroccan exports to Germany, up 32% compared to 2021, equivalent to a value of 2.1 billion euros.

"German-Moroccan economic relations remain on the fast track. The trade figures for 2022 clearly show that this growing interest is increasingly reflected in the realization of agreements and projects that generate benefits for both partners," said AHK Morocco Director General Andreas Wenzel, as quoted in the release.

He further explained that "even if a large part of the increase in world trade in 2022 is due to inflation [14.6% for German exports and 26.3% for German imports], our trade relations are growing significantly, with more than 30% in both directions."

"In the ranking of Germany's most important export markets, Indonesia and Vietnam are in the top 50, ahead of Morocco. There is still a lot to do, but if the momentum continues, it is not unrealistic to consider being in the top 50 as early as 2023," he added.