Saudi Arabia has announced new alcohol regulations as it prepares to operate the first booze store in the capital, Riyadh.
Alcohol sales and usage in Saudi Arabia are rigorously prohibited and punishable by lashing, deportation, fines, and jail.
The restrictions governing alcohol quotas for non-Muslim diplomatic missions are being implemented to “counter the illicit trade of alcohol goods,” according to a statement from the government’s Centre of International Communication.
According to Reuters, the first alcohol store in the capital Riyadh will only serve non-Muslim officials.
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The CIC responding to the report said that a “new process will focus on allocating specific quantities of alcohol goods when entering the Kingdom to put an end to the previous unregulated process that caused an uncontrolled exchange of such goods in the Kingdom.”
The CIC did not clarify if a shop will be opened but said the new “regulatory framework has been introduced to counter the illicit trade of alcohol goods and products received by diplomatic missions,” the CIC said.
Despite the alcohol restriction, Saudi Arabia, under Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, has sought to redesign its tourism industry as part of a larger goal to diversify the economy, sparking speculation that alcohol could be legalised in the Kingdom very soon.
