Sultan Of Oman Qaboos Passes Away
Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, the Omani monarch who ruled the country for nearly fifty years, has passed away at age of 79. A fourteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the House of Al Said, he was the longest-serving leader in the Middle East and Arab world at the time of his death. Qaboos was rumoured to be suffering from colon cancer in the later part of his life and eventually died on 10th January, 2020. The sultan has ruled Oman since overthrowing his father in a bloodless coup in 1970 and had named Haitham bin Tariq Al Said as his heir.
The royal court of Oman declared three days of mourning and his death was announced by the official Oman News Agency. "With sadness ... the Omani Sultanate court mourns ... our Sultan Qaboos bin Said ... who God chose to be by his side on Friday evening," the agency said.
The only son of Sultan Said bin Taimur of Muscat and Oman, Qaboos was educated in England and was a graduate of Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He returned to Oman in 1966. Being the Sultan of Oman from 1970 until his death in 2020, Qaboos implemented a policy of modernization and development, and brought an end to Oman's international isolation. His reign saw a rise in living standards and sustained economic development in the country, the abolition of slavery, the end of the Dhofar Rebellion and the promulgation of Oman's constitution.
Under Qaboos’ rule, Indo-Omani strategic partnership that went from strength to strength. Asserting his deeper ties with India, Qaboos was quoted as saying, “While other Gulf Arabs prefer to get on a camel and go west into the Arab desert, Omanis prefer to be on a boat and drift towards India.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on the demise of the Oman Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said. In his tweet, PM mentioned, “I am deeply saddened to learn about the passing away of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said. He was a visionary leader and statesman who transformed Oman into a modern and prosperous nation. He was a beacon of peace for our region and the world.” Apart from describing Qaboos as a visionary leader, PM Modi also stated that the late Oman monarch played a significant role in emboldening the strategic ties between India and Oman.
