Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry called his counterpart in Morocco on Monday to discuss bilateral relations just days after an Egyptian television anchorwoman said on air that the economy of Morocco was based on prostitution.
The phone call, which took place between Shoukry and Salaheddine Mezouar, focused on the two countries’ bilateral relations, which, according to a statement released by the Egyptian foreign ministry, “cannot be compromised as they are rooted in history,” and Arab culture.
The phone call came less than a week after television anchorwoman Amany El-Khayat said live on air that the Moroccan economy is based on prostitution and that Morocco’s King Mohamed VI made a deal with Islamists during the beginning of 2011’s Arab Spring uprisings.
El-Khayat, who is the anchorwoman of a show on privately owned ONTV, then encouraged viewers to Google the ranking of Morocco in terms of AIDS prevalence.
Backlash online was almost immediate, as media mogul Naguib Sawiris, the owner of the channel, promised to investigate the incidents himself.
El-Khayat apologised Thursday for her comments. On Sunday she announced that she was no longer going to host her show.
