‘World has lost a great leader’

Many international newspapers and media platforms published reviews about the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, may God have mercy on his soul. They highlighted how the late Sultan managed 50 years of his reign to transform Oman into a modern developed state.

Ben Hubbard, Chief for The New York Times Beirut Bureau wrote an article titled ‘Sultan Qaboos, Who Built Oman Into a Prosperous Oasis of Peacemaking, Dies at 79’ with a subtitle reading: ‘The longest-serving Arab ruler, Qaboos pulled his nation from poverty and brokered quiet talks between global foes’.

The article said that His Majesty Sultan Qaboos’ decades as a monarch who used oil wealth to pull his country from poverty made him a towering figure at home, with roads, ports, universities, sports stadiums and other facilities bearing his name. Internationally, as the longest-serving leader in the Arab world, he used Oman’s place in a turbulent region, next to one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, to become a discreet but essential diplomatic player.

The Guardian published an obituary reading: Sultan Qaboos Ruler of Oman for nearly 50 years who transformed his country into a prosperous modern state.

Over the course of nearly five decades, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, who has died aged 79, transformed Oman into a prosperous, modern and unified state fully engaged in the Arab region and the wider world, the article said.

Clinics, hospitals, schools and a sports arena, invariably named after the Omani ruler, almost entirely absent before 1970 are now commonplace across the kingdom.

Jon Gambrell wrote an article in Time under the heading ‘His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, Who Modernized Oman, Dies at 79’

Under his reign, Oman became known as a welcoming tourist destination and a key Mideast interlocutor, helping the US free captives in Iran and Yemen

In an interview with a Kuwaiti newspaper in 2008, late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos said, “We do not have any conflicts and we do not put fuel on the fire when our opinion does not agree with someone.”

An article published in the CNN website said: “The US Embassy in the capital of Muscat said it’s “deeply saddened” by Qaboos’ death.

“We have lost one of the world’s great leaders — a visionary responsible for Oman’s prosperity and progress for the last half century,” the embassy’s tweet read. “His steadfast leadership embodied his sincerity, his generosity, his tolerance, and his deep love for his country. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos will be missed not only by the people of Oman, but also by his friends and admirers the world over, including in the United States.”

The article reads: “The late Sultan Qaboos was seen as a modernizing leader who played a key role in diplomacy and mediation in the Middle East. During his reign, Qaboos encouraged the greater involvement of women in roles in politics, business and sport, after allowing them to enter the workforce in the 1990s.”

The Middle East Monitor published an article under the heading ‘Oman’s Sultan Qaboos dies; cousin Haitham named successor’.

The article goes on to say “With his death, the region loses a trusted and seasoned leader. Omanis took to social media to mourn the death of a ruler who had made regular tours of the nation to speak to citizens,

often driving his own four-wheel drive in the convoys.”

“The first words I heard from my weeping mother after news of the great Sultan Qaboos’ death was: The father of orphans, of the poor, of the downtrodden, of all of us, has died,” Twitter user Abdullah bin Hamad al Harthi wrote. “Our minds cannot comprehend his absence,” another Twitter user who gave her name as Sheikha said.

Bloomberg News said: Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Omani leader who turned an isolated Middle Eastern country torn by civil war into a stable oil exporter, has died at age 79.

Qaboos set himself apart from his peers in the Gulf with an unorthodox regional policy. During his rule, Oman instead often served as a neutral mediator in the region, earning it a “Switzerland of the Middle East”. It hosted discussions between the US and Iran that paved the way for the landmark nuclear deal in 2015. At home, Qaboos gave women the vote in the early 1990s and enabled them to stand for public office, unprecedented moves for the Gulf.

“This impressive feat was done without antagonizing other nations,” said Gary Grappo, a former US ambassador to the country. “His Sultanate rightly became known as an island of stability in a very troubled region,” Bloomberg said.

The Washington Post published an obituary under the heading ‘Sultan Qaboos, who transformed Oman into a regional power broker, dies at 79’.

The article goes on to say that the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos shunned the skyscrapers and extravagances of nearby Dubai and Abu Dhabi, stressing that Muscat and other cities should generally retain their traditional character and architecture as much as possible, even as five-star resorts and international brands moved in.

“The sun has risen on our country, and we will regain our previous fame and strength and become a country worthy of respect and appreciation,” the late Sultan was quoted as saying, the article said.