High-ranking military officers carry the coffin of Oman Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who died at the age of 79. The late sultan oversaw the country's development for nearly half a century. Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Mideast’s longest-ruling monarch who carefully balanced diplomatic ties between Iran and the U.S., died late Friday at 79.
FILE – In this Monday, Jan. 14, 2019 file photo, Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said sits during a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Beit Al Baraka Royal Palace in Muscat, Oman.
'Yesterday, Oman was in darkness,' Sultan Qaboos said after the coup. The new sultan inherits strained state finances and high unemployment in the indebted oil producer, as well as the task of balancing the geopolitical interests of his Middle Eastern neighbours.A three-day period of official mourning in public and private sectors has been declared, state media said. Sultan Qaboos shaped Oman’s policy of non-interference, refusing to join the Saudi-led coalition at war in Yemen and keeping the country’s border with Yemen open throughout the conflict. He had been ill with cancer for several years. He was succeeded by former Culture Minister Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, who was sworn in Saturday.
In his first speech after he was sworn in at the Royal Family Council in Muscat today, Haitham bin Tariq pledged to follow the non-interference foreign policy of the late Sultan Qaboos that made the kingdom an important regional broker.He also expressed support for 'our country's foreign policy of peaceful living among nations and peoples... and not interfering in the internal affairs of others, respecting nations' sovereignty and international cooperation. In December 2019, he traveled to Belgium for a week for what the court described as 'medical checks.' 'With great sorrow and deep sadness... the royal court mourns His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who passed away on Friday,' the court said in a statement today.
After the ceremony, the late Sultan Qaboos was carried by newly sworn in leader Haitham bin Tariq and General Sultan bin Mohammed al Nomani to his final resting place in the royal family cemetery. A fifteenth-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.
Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Arab world’s longest-serving ruler and with a reputation for quiet diplomacy, has died at the age of 79. We are no longer accepting comments on this article.Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media GroupSecond in lime to the throne!
His mother was one of the Qara … Sultan Qaboos spent eight months in a hospital in Germany, returning to Oman in 2015, with the royal court only saying that the treatment he received was successful. Reports say Haitham bin Tariq al-Said will replace Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who had no children Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Arab world’s longest-serving ruler and with a reputation for quiet diplomacy, has His cousin, Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, will be sworn in as the new sultan, ending decades of speculation over who would succeed the popular ruler.Boris Johnson said he was “deeply saddened” by Qaboos’s death, describing him as “an exceptionally wise and respected leader who will be missed enormously”.He said: “He will be remembered for his devotion to the development of “The UK is a proud friend and enduring partner of Oman, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Omani people.”The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, was among others paying tribute, describing the sultan’s 50-year rule as “widely respected” and saying that he had worked hard to “promote peace and stability in Oman and the wider region”.A former British protectorate in the Arabian Peninsula, Qaboos had no children and, following protocol, had not publicly appointed a successor. Sultan Qaboos of Oman, who died on 10 January 2020, at the age of 79 after almost five decades on the throne. High-ranking military officers carry the coffin of Oman Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who died at the age of 79.