Our Correspondent
The Sultanate of Oman is celebrating its 50th National Day of the Renaissance on November 18 albeit on a muted tone this year as the country is still mourning the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said in January 2020.
On the momentous golden jubilee occasion, His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq, the Supreme Commander, has issued a Royal pardon to 390 prisoners, 150 of them foreign nationals, convicted in different cases.
Sultan Haitham is expected to address the nation on television instead of live crowds at the national stadium.
Oman has declared November 25 and 26 as holidays, which will be a four-day extended holiday next week. The Sultanate has a tradition of declaring holidays not on the National Day but in the following week.
But this year the festivities have been cut down in recognition of the nation’s loss in January as well as the need to limit large gatherings owing to the COVID-19 pandemic; there is also the need to curtail non-essential expenditure to protect its ailing economy. In previous years, renowned actors, singers and other performers were flown in to entertain crowds in football stadiums and hotels across the country. Towns outside Muscat are expected to hold the usual horse and camel races.
Sultan Qaboos, who was the Arab world’s longest-serving ruler when he passed away at 79, had ascended the throne on this day in 1970 taking the Sultanate on a path of renaissance and modernisation. He transformed the nation from isolationist obscurity into a modern one with its oil wealth; he built roads, bridges, schools, universities and other modern infrastructure as well as opened it up to visitors.
The country of 2.7 million Omanis and another 1.7 million foreigners could be witnessing a second wave of renaissance now under the new Sultan, who has trimmed civil ministries, divested the portfolios of finance and foreign affairs and introduced a series of measures to boost its economy.
UAE joins celebrations
The UAE is celebrating the 50th National Day of Oman with the slogan, “Oman is from us, and we are among them”, highlighting the strong ties and strategic partnership between the two countries.
The celebrations will witness numerous events and shows. Key landmarks around the country will be lighted with the Omani flag, and festive celebrations will be held at the country’s land ports. Omani visitors coming to the UAE will be received with flowers and souvenirs.
The land ports connecting the two countries were reopened this week after over eight months of suspension on account of the pandemic.
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai; and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the Rulers of the northern emirates have sent messages of congratulations to Sultan Haitham.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Ruler of Dubai, stated: “Oman is from us, and we are among them. They are our siblings, and we have long-term mutual ties that we are proud of, which are being reinforced by our people daily.”
The ties between the two countries are witnessing rapid political, economic, social and cultural development. The non-oil trade between the two countries in 2019 was valued at AED48 billion, reflecting the strong economic partnership between the two countries, WAM quoted the UAE Ministry of Finance.
Trade between the Sultanate of Oman, which is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner in the Gulf, and the emirate of Dubai jumped 8.4 per cent to AED 37.85 billion in 2019, compared to AED 34.9 billion in 2018.
The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Sultan Qaboos had held a historic meeting in 1968. After the establishment of the UAE federation in 1971, many cultural and educational agreements were signed between the countries.
