Renaissance Day celebrates Omani sultan's leadership
Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said is the architect of modern Oman's economic development since he ascended to the throne on July 23, 1970. / Embassy of Oman
By Yi Whan-woo
July 23, 1970 is more than the day Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said took the throne to become the longest-serving leader in the Middle East. Although Oman was as rich in oil as other neighboring Arab countries were, the new sultan put a priority on the intelligence and well-being of the people through education, healthcare and other necessary forms of support.
His foresight has prompted the sultanate on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula to be decades ahead of other Arab countries that are now striving to shift away from oil-dependent economies.
The sultan’s policy of peace and neutrality amid military conflicts in the region also led Oman to win its reputation as the “Switzerland of the Middle East.”
“The blessings of the Oman Renaissance spread all over the sultanate, bringing about a new era of modernization and prosperity that has benefited all citizens,” Omani Ambassador to Korea Mohamed Alharthy said last week in celebration of the 49th anniversary of the July 23 Renaissance Day. “The sultanate enjoys friendly ties with many other countries and the efforts are expanding on this direction, mainly to serve the goals of sustainable and comprehensive domestic development programs.”
Ambassador Alharthy said Omani citizens are considered “the most valuable asset” as part of the sultan’s policy of fostering education, healthcare and social growth as well as protecting equality, law and justice.
Many of them, according to the ambassador, are highly-trained to take part in national development plans, including Vision 2020 and Vision 2040.
“Since the start, Sultan Qaboos accorded priority to the grooming of generations of Omani citizens for whom he provided all means of progress,” Alharthy said. “Omani citizens now savor the bounties furnished by major sustainable development projects that cover the whole country.”
The country is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) consisting of six Arab states of the Persian Gulf, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The sultanate has not severed relations with Qatar and remains neutral on the Saudi Arabia-led blockade against Qatar.
Oman has accepted Houthi rebels wounded from fighting in Yemen’s civil war, a decision that irked Saudi Arabia and coalition forces in their anti-Houthi campaign.
While the GCC is an alliance largely formed to deter Iran, Oman has been against the idea. It has been trading with Iran despite U.S. sanctions.
“Oman’s stability and prosperity have in fact benefited the whole region because the country furnished grounds for resolving disputes through dialogue and peaceful means,” Alharthy said.
The envoy said Renaissance Day made a series of national development plans possible.
They include Vision 2020 that builds on a set of plans established in 1995. Its main goals are to steer the sultanate into toward a more sustainable and diversified economy and to double real income by 2020 from 1995.
Vision 2020 will be succeeded by Vision 2040, which will be initiated in 2021 as part of Oman’s 10th Five Year Plan from 2021 to 2025.
Vision 2040 prepares for a post-oil economy, by fostering an environment for international investment and business such as the Special Economic Zone in the country’s central eastern city of Duqm.