But alcohol in Saudi Arabia has always been a taboo subject — while the country's leadership wants to modernize it and bring in more tourism and foreign investors, it also has to keep from ...

DUBAI (Reuters) -A Saudi official denied on Monday media reports saying the kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, would lift its 73-year-old ban on alcohol, which is prohibited for Muslims.

For the first time in over 70 years, a shop selling alcohol has opened in Saudi Arabia, a diplomat revealed on Wednesday. The move marks another step towards social liberalisation in the kingdom ...

As Saudi Arabia prepares for a $500 billion futuristic city project called Neom, reports have circulated that alcohol could be served at a beach resort there. Sensitivities, however, remain.

Saudi Arabia will open its first alcohol store, Reuters reported. The store will serve non-Muslim diplomats, the report said.

Saudi Arabia is preparing to open its first alcohol store in the capital Riyadh which will serve exclusively non-Muslim diplomats, according to a source familiar with the plans and a document.

Saudi Arabia has long had a "smuggling problem," with diplomats selling imported alcohol on the black market, sources told CNBC.