Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

A visionary leader who ruled by love

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The late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos had broad interests in religion, languages, literature, history, astronomy and environmental affairs which was evident in his personal support to many cultural projects at home and on both the Arab and international levels through the Unesco and other international organisations. The late Sultan gathered his knowledge from his wide reading, travels around the world and education in the UK.


The late Sultan said in one of his speeches: “My father’s insistence that I should study the Islamic faith and the history and culture of Oman had a great impact on me personally that it enhanced my knowledge and awareness of my responsibilities towards my people and humanity as a whole. Besides, I benefited from the Western education, I underwent a soldier’s life, and finally I had the opportunity to benefit from reading philosophical and political books written by the most renowned thinkers.”


Among these projects, to name few, is the Sultan Qaboos Encyclopaedia of Arab Names, his support to the Holy Quran memorisation projects in the Sultanate and many Arab countries, in addition to some projects that were implemented in Al-Azhar University and the Arabian Gulf University and a number of Arab and international varsities and scientific centres. Among the most prominent projects of the late Sultan was the Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Protection, which is awarded once every two years by the Unesco and his support to the Silk Road studies. The last of these projects being the Sultan Qaboos project on United Human Values which seeks to strengthen humanitarian relations among nations.


Speaking about his hobbies, the late Sultan said: “Since my early childhood I love horse riding. I was ones put on a horseback when I was four years old and I loved horse riding ever since but recently I rarely practiced riding as I was busy, but horses remained close to my heart. Besides, I have a passion for shooting having received military training. Shooting is an important part for those who are interested in the military activities and also for those who lived in a community such as Oman where the individuals take pride in carrying weapons on special occasions. Besides, I have a passion to experience new weapons be it a rifle, a machine gun or a tank cannon, however rifle and pistol shooting is my favourite hobby as well as archery.”


The late Sultan says: “I have other hobbies like walking, I loved walking since early childhood. I find it convenient to spend some time walking on the beach before going to bed because the sea walk is a good exercise for both body and mind. I love photography and I also have the hobby of landscape painting, however conditions and time did not allow me to practice all these hobbies. Reading was yet another hobby but it turned to be part of the daily work so it was difficult for me to practice reading as a hobby except for the books that are associated with work and daily life.”


The grandeur of this blessed march was embodied in all walks of life across Oman not only in terms of the projects that were accomplished and the sustainable development felt by Omani citizens from Musandam in the north to Al Mazyona in Dhofar Governorate, but also with regard to the values and principles entrenched by the late leader of this blessed march.


The late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has attached priority to building the Omani citizen and preparing consecutive generations of Omanis and providing everything possible for the prosperity of the Omani people and society in the domains of education, healthcare and social development in order to prepare national cadres cable who can take on the biggest role in formulating, leading and directing the national development plans.


Despite modest financial resources and reliance on volatile oil revenues, the greatest gains lied in the successive generations of young Omanis for whom all sorts of opportunities were made available including higher education as well as training and employment. The availability of varied opportunities has made it possible for the youth to take over the responsibility of leading and directing development programmes in various fields and sectors. This is exactly what has been accomplished within the framework of the values of equality, citizenship, justice and the rule of law which were laid down by the late Sultan may Almighty Allah have mercy upon him.


The march of the blessed Renaissance has succeeded in mobilising all the energies latent within the Omani society including women. This has allowed the country to set off towards new horizons to fulfil the aspirations of the citizens. As a result, the Sultanate managed to restore its former glory and to regain its civilisational role and its ability to contribute positively in all that can lead to the goodness and stability of the countries and peoples of the region and prepare the ground for solving the differences through dialogue and peaceful means, and within the framework of mutual respect, and commitment to the principles of good neighbourliness and non-interference in internal affairs according to the principles of legitimacy and international law.


July 23, 1970, the day of the blessed Renaissance, formed a milestone in the lives of Omani citizen, the society and the state as a whole and even in Oman’s modern history. The pillars of the modern Omani state laid down by the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos with the contribution of the Omani people.


The realisation of the modern state was in fact the fruition of massive and continued efforts which were made over the course of five decades. These efforts were wisely and efficiently guided by the late Sultan. The Omani citizens all over the country are proud to have participated in these achievements with love, dedication, loyalty, determination and sincerity.


It is of profound significance that the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos expressed his satisfaction over the efforts made by the government and other institutions. He stated that the country has made efforts to continue the comprehensive development process and has achieved positive growth rates and managed to maintained the level of basic social services for all citizens by diversifying sources of income and raising the contributions of non-oil sectors to the state general revenues. This underscores the significance of the consecutive development plans prepared by the government, and its role in creating more investment fields and strengthening partnership between the government and the private sector.


The Sultanate accords a great attention and priority to accommodating more young job-seekers through job opportunities that are provided in cooperation between the government and the private sector. In addition to what has been achieved in this field, the National Recruitment Centre has been established as per Royal Decree 22/2019. The NRC is an autonomous institution established under the Council of Ministers with independent financial and administrative powers and is expected to create a quantum leap in terms of employment. — ONA


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