STRICT RULES
Entry to the shop within the Diplomatic Quarter “is strictly restricted to non-Muslims”, in response to the doc seen by AFP.
“No individuals underneath the age of 21 are allowed inside the shop” and “correct apparel is required”, it says.
Those that register with the app are unable to ship relations, drivers, assistants or colleagues of their place, it says.
Use of cellphones is prohibited within the retailer.
Below the quota system, these authorised to entry the shop will be capable to buy 240 “factors” of alcohol monthly. A litre of spirits is value six factors, a litre of wine is value three factors and a litre of beer is value one level.
The Saudi authorities assertion indicated that not a lot would change instantly for the overwhelming majority of Saudi Arabia’s 32 million individuals, who’ve few methods to imbibe until they’re prepared to journey overseas.
Past attending receptions within the Diplomatic Quarter, they will make selfmade wine or flip to the black market, the place bottles of whiskey can go for a whole lot of {dollars} forward of holidays like New 12 months’s Eve.
REGIONAL RIVALRY
Imaginative and prescient 2030 seeks to remodel the world’s greatest crude exporter right into a enterprise, tourism and sports activities hub, laying the groundwork for a post-oil financial system.
Wednesday’s information got here as Saudi Arabia more and more competes with its neighbours, particularly Dubai within the United Arab Emirates, for international funding and tourism {dollars}.
This month, for instance, authorities carried out a rule requiring multinational companies to arrange regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia or lose out on authorities contracts.
Alcohol is on the market in myriad motels, eating places and bars in Dubai. In neighbouring Qatar, alcohol is served in licensed motels and eating places to non-Muslims over 21 years outdated.
Final yr, Saudi Arabia was granted internet hosting rights for Expo 2030 and the World Cup in 2034, additional fuelling hypothesis that the alcohol ban may be lifted, or at the very least weakened with carve-outs in locations like NEOM, a deliberate US$500 billion futuristic megacity.
However provided that alcohol is forbidden in Islam, the problem stays deeply delicate within the nation that’s house to the faith’s holiest websites within the cities of Mecca and Medina.
Below Saudi legislation, penalties for consumption or possession of alcohol can embrace fines, jail time, public flogging and deportation for unauthorised foreigners.
Saudi officers had till Wednesday dismissed options of any main coverage change.
“The brief reply is, we’re going to proceed with our present legal guidelines,” deputy tourism minister Princess Haifa Al Saud stated when requested instantly in regards to the concern on the World Financial Discussion board in Davos in 2022.
