By Safiu Kehinde
Since 1952 when it slammed a ban on the sale of liquour, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has concluded plans to allow the sale of alcohol diplomats.
Sources quoted by AFP, said alcohol will now be sold to some percentage of people. But there is no official confirmation by the country’s authorities.
A Saudi government statement on Wednesday said authorities were introducing “a new regulatory framework… to counter the illicit trade of alcohol goods and products received by diplomatic missions.”
The statement added: “The 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 existing regulations have limited the options for the majority of Saudi Arabia’s 32 million inhabitants to consume alcohol.
Apart from attending official events, individuals can resort to producing their own wine or resort to the underground market, where the price of whiskey bottles can reach hundreds of dollars, especially during occasions like New Year’s Eve.
Until now, diplomats had to import alcohol into the Islamic country through a diplomatic pouch.