RIYADH (Mareeg): The government of Saudi Arabia is considering lifting the ban it had imposed since September 2000 on the entry of Somali livestock into the Kingdom.

According to Saudi Minister of Agriculture and Water, Dr. Abdulla Bin Abdul Aziz, the ministry has already decided to reconsider the embargo in the light of newly emerging evidence that it was no longer necessary.

The Saudi Minister was quoted by the Saudi-based Al-Iqtisadiye newspaper’s yesterday edition, as saying the embargo will be removed as soon as some additional and strict preventive health measures have been put in place.

The decision to review the embargo has coincided with reports that large quantities of livestock originating from the Horn of Africa find their way into the Saudi market through smuggling.

Reports said, Smuggled animals normally enter the country without being screened by health officials.

SOURCE: Al Riyadh