Sultan Qaboos, Oman's great moderniser and regional mediator


Con Coughlin
  • English
  • Arabic

As the longest-serving ruler in the Middle East, Sultan Qaboos deserves enormous credit for the contribution he made in his efforts to maintain the security and stability in the region as well as his own country.

By far his most notable achievement was in bringing political stability to Oman, a country that underwent a radical transformation during his reign, which started in 1970 when he succeeded his father and began the transformation of Oman in to a modern state.

At the time of his accession, Oman is reported to have possessed only 12 hospital beds, six miles of surfaced roads and three primary schools – all of them for boys. Radios were banned and civilians were not allowed to drive. The gates of Muscat were closed every evening, and residents of the city were required to carry lanterns if they went out after dark.

A week after succeeding his father, at the age of 29, Qaboos visited the capital, Muscat, and committed himself to modernising the country. “It was”, he said later, “a new dawn”.

His reform programme was helped immensely by the fact that in the mid-1970s Oman’s oil industry was developing fast, thereby allowing Qaboos to invest the revenue in the development of his country. He ensured that those resources were committed to improving Oman on every front.

But in order to stabilise the country, Qaboos needed to quell the guerrilla insurgency in Dhofar province, where his enemies were armed and supplied by the Marxist leadership in neighbouring South Yemen.

The origins of the rebellion dated back to the early 1960s, but its high-water mark of military success was reached in 1970 when the insurgents, 96 members of the South Yemeni-supported Popular Front for the Liberation of the Arab Gulf controlled all of Dhofar except for the RAF base at Salalah.

A committed Anglophile, Qaboos had been educated by British tutors and at the Sandhurst Military Academy, he relied on Britain’s elite SAS to support Omanis working to defeat the rebels. By 1975, after some bitter fighting, the last rebel town, Rakhyut, was recaptured, and on December 11, he declared the war was officially over.

After the successful resolution of the conflict, Qaboos continued to maintain his close relationship with the British. When he decided to create an air force in 1974, he entrusted the task to Air Marshal Sir Erik Bennett, an RAF officer who was then serving as air adviser to King Hussein of Jordan. Their personal bond grew stronger when the two men narrowly survived a car accident in Oman 1995.

Qaboos also proved adept in the statesmanlike role he performed beyond Omani shores, where he won respect for the skill he displayed in steering Oman along a middle path through the tricky landscape of Middle Eastern diplomacy.

He insisted on maintaining ties with all sides and set his role as a mediator. When the Arab world cut off Egypt in 1977 for establishing ties with Israel, Muscat maintained its links with Cairo.

The Sultan had ties with various countries and sides, adopting a neutral stance wherever possible. While having strong relations with the United Kingdom and the United States, he was among the first to foster ties with China and Russia.

He was always wary of adopting extreme positions, and, while remaining a close ally of the West, also managed to maintain good links with Iran, to the extent that, when US President Barack Obama sought to open a backchannel to Tehran for secret talks over the nuclear programme, it was natural for the Americans to turn to Oman.

Qaboos helped to arrange a series of covert meetings between US and Iranian officials in 2013. When an interim agreement was reached in Geneva in November of that year imposing constraints on Iran’s nuclear programme, all the groundwork had been laid via the “Oman channel” – as diplomats called his discreet efforts.

But Qaboos also remained well aware of the potential threat Iran posed to Gulf security. Following the revolution in Iran in 1979, and the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war the following year, he opted for Oman to join the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981.

Oman’s geographical location close to the Strait of Hormuz meant that the country’s vulnerability was always uppermost in his mind, leading him to sign a military access agreement with the United States, which resulted in joint manoeuvres being carried out to test the readiness of the US Rapid Deployment Force.

More recently, one of his last acts was to sign a military cooperation pact with Britain that resulted in the opening of a new British base in Oman.

He was also known for his love of culture and music, in addition to being an avid reader.

In 1985, he established one of the most well-known symphony orchestras in the Arab world. All the musicians were to be Omani and it helped foster a unique musical standing for Muscat in the region. All training was also conducted in Oman and on July 1, 1987, the Royal Omani Symphony Orchestra performed its first concert. In 1988, women were admitted to the orchestra, a bold move at the time.

In 2001, he announced plans to build an opera house in Muscat. The Royal Opera House opened ten years later, in 2011, with a production of Turandot, and continues to host a busy and vibrant cultural programme.

Sultan Qaboos will be remembered for the development his country achieved under his watch and the unique role he carved out for it regionally and internationally.

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Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):

Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Match will be shown on BeIN Sports

Fixtures

Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am

Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am

Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am

Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight

Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
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Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space

Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)

Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)

Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi 

Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution) 

Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space  

Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019

FA Cup semi-finals

Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)

Matches on Bein Sports

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Rain Management

Year started: 2017

Based: Bahrain

Employees: 100-120

Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund

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Director: Nora Twomey

Starring: Saara Chaudry,  Soma Chhaya,  Laara Sadiq 

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PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

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Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

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Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

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Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm

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On sale: via special order

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2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier

Event info: The tournament in Kuwait this month is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.

UAE’s fixtures: Fri Apr 20, UAE v Qatar; Sat Apr 21, UAE v Saudi Arabia; Mon Apr 23, UAE v Bahrain; Tue Apr 24, UAE v Maldives; Thu Apr 26, UAE v Kuwait

World T20 2020 Qualifying process:

  • Sixteen teams will play at the World T20 in two years’ time.
  • Australia have already qualified as hosts
  • Nine places are available to the top nine ranked sides in the ICC’s T20i standings, not including Australia, on Dec 31, 2018.
  • The final six teams will be decided by a 14-team World T20 Qualifier.

World T20 standings: 1 Pakistan; 2 Australia; 3 India; 4 New Zealand; 5 England; 6 South Africa; 7 West Indies; 8 Sri Lanka; 9 Afghanistan; 10 Bangladesh; 11 Scotland; 12 Zimbabwe; 13 UAE; 14 Netherlands; 15 Hong Kong; 16 Papua New Guinea; 17 Oman; 18 Ireland

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The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015

His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016

Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017

Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
 
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
 
Don’t be afraid to negotiate

It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
 
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
 
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.

SERIES INFO

Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series

All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Test series

1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March

Play starts at 9.30am

T20 series

1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March

TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube

The Lowdown

Kesari

Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra

 

The biog

Name: Younis Al Balooshi

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn

Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design

MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)

Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports

Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas

Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa

Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong

Rating: 3/5