Representatives from a top Saudi hospital and international tobacco firms met in Geneva Wednesday, July 18, for talks on an out-of-court settlement over a $15-billion claim, a newspaper reported.
The English-language Arab News said the meeting was sought by the Saudi law firm representing the tobacco companies to discuss a lawsuit filed in the United States by the King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH).
KFSH filed the lawsuit in February demanding compensation to cover treatment costs of smoking-related diseases in the oil-rich kingdom over the past 25 years, the paper quoted informed sources as saying.
If negotiations for an out-of-court settlement fail, KFSH will pursue its claim through US courts, they said.
Saudi Arabia, with a population of only 20 million, is the world's 19th largest importer of tobacco products with annual imports worth around $170 million.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which groups Saudi Arabia with Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, has increased a tariff on tobacco to 100 percent and is planning a further hike. ― (AFP, Riyadh)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
