Commemorating the 40th National Day of the Sultanate of Oman
The blessed nation is on the threshold of celebrating the 40th National Day. The wise leadership of His Majesty (HM), Sultan Qaboos Bin Said has catapulted the nation as one of the vibrant economies not only amongst the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), but also
within the Middle East. Omanis have created a global niche for themselves especially when it comes to warm hospitality, live and let live, self sufficiency, willing to take up any and every challenge with a smile, and strong cultural and traditional fabric as the cornerstone of everything they do. To achieve so many milestones in a short span of 40 years is indeed a great thing, thanks to the seed sown by the leadership of HM and the commensurate response from one and all in the Sultanate. More than anything else it is the rapid and sustained growth across sectors which has made the Sultanate the cynosure of all global eyes, especially when it comes to bilateral trade, business venture and trade related investments, and people to people contact to name a few. This rate of progress etched firmly on the strong foundation of sustenance and progress for years to come have kept the Sultanate immune from all crisis be it the global recession encountered by all countries, sans a few emerging economies, excluding even the GCC economies which also had to bore the brunt to an extent, is a strong indicator of the strong basics on which the Omani growth hinges. As an expatriate based in the Sultanate for years, yours truly is frank in opining the fact that very few nations across the globe can match the all round development as that of this blessed nation, that too in such a short span of time. The courteous people coupled with the guiding light from His Majesty’s forward looking policies makes this nation a truly unique one.
This small write-up is a tribute to the great leader and the magnificient nation on the 40th National Day. Some of the indicators marking the progress towards the blessed renaissance in the last 40 years are presented below-
(1) Warm Hospitality
Oman has always been known to offer warm hospitality to the visitors. People visiting the country for leisure, official work or employment purpose often realizes the fact first hand and contributes towards the positive word of mouth after reaching their homelands or while visiting other countries. In fact there have been comments which said people received the best hospitality in Sultanate even while comparing with many other nations across the world.
(2) A sense of brotherhood amongst all the citizens, expatriates
The Sultanate offers an ideal example where a perfect brotherhood exists amongst all the residents, be it the citizens or the expatriates. The culture of respecting everyone and considering them equal devoid of any differences on the basis of any specific criteria makes the nation a leading example for the world full of nepotism and myopic policies. Live and let live is the fabric which binds the nation together.
(3) A vibrant economy
Sultanate of Oman presents a picture having a vibrant economy with contributions from different sectors. The emphasis on services based industries especially those which are knowledge driven and an alternative model apart from the petroleum and allied products and services speaks volumes about the foresightedness of His Majesty and his policies. Emergence of Knowledge Oasis, Muscat and knowledge portal http://www.knowledgeoman.com are few of the many cases in the point. This vibrancy in the economy coupled with industry friendly policies and geo-political advantages makes it a perfect destination for foreign investments.
(4) The Education Sector
The education sector in the Sultanate of Oman depicts a picture of a nation which understands the importance of knowledge in the modern era. From a few schools and handful few colleges, the country has developed a strong education sector encompassing primary, secondary and tertiary level of education. The perfect sync observed between the public funded and private sponsored colleges and universities supervised by regulatory bodies are enabling the country to march ahead in the new millennium.
(5) The tourism sector
The natural landscapes where sea, mountain, deserts and plains converge in Sultanate are a unique experience for any tourism connoisseur. The warm hospitality, coupled with policies taken by the government makes the country an ideal destination for travelers from all across the globe. It is not surprising to see that the number of tourists arriving from different countries is always on a northward movement, thanks to the destination which offers strong law and order, easy accessibility through grand roads and a perfect communication system play a crucial role in scaling heights.
(6) True meaning of leadership
HM Sultan Qaboos Bin Said is the leader of the masses. The amount of respect he commands not only from the countrymen, but also from global leaders and citizens speaks about his contribution towards the world at large. The recent movement on Face-book for global peace prize for HM is an indication about his popularity amongst all sections of the society. Reaching out to the common man so as to solve his problems with accuracy, precision and rapid speed is the largest contributor for the country to reach the pinnacle in 40 short years! Many leaders from across the globe are falling in the popularity charts only because of their detachment with his or her immediate followers and here is a person whose popularity and sincere respect is always increasing even without any propaganda, speaking volumes about his real self. Quoting His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said delivered 40 years back and the achievement so far says it all. “I promise you to proceed forthwith in the process of creating a modern government. My first act will be the immediate abolition of all the unnecessary restrictions on your lives and activities. My people, I will proceed as quickly as possible to transform your life into a prosperous one with a bright future. Every one of you must play his part towards this goal. Our country in the past was famous and strong. If we work in unity and cooperation we will regenerate that glorious past and we will take a respectable place in the world. I call upon you to continue living as usual. I will be arriving in Muscat in the coming days and then I will let you know of my future plans. My people, I and my new government will work to achieve our general objective. My people, my brothers, yesterday it was complete darkness and with the help of God, tomorrow will be a new dawn on Muscat, Oman and its people. God bless us all and may He grant our efforts success.” (http://www.omanet.om/english/government/hmspage/tribute.asp)
(7) Infrastructural beauty
Oman is an ideal destination to witness the modern infrastructural beauty hinged firmly on the natural beauty. Capital Muscat or Dhofar Governorate or even Nizwa would provide burning examples to showcase the best of the infrastructure in terms of road, communication, transport, and building with a strong tinge of natural landscape around them. The greenery across the capital and the roads carved across the mountains and sea faces makes one enjoy the infrastructural beauties to the fullest, unlike other global destinations where it’s devoid of that natural touch.
(8) Achieving Self Sufficiency
The Sultanate unlike many of its GCC neighbours are achieving self sufficiency in employing its own nationals over expatriate workers with a planned and systematically implemented approach enabling the country to grow holistically by providing all round opportunities for its citizens. The far sighted approach on Omanization by the leadership of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said is facilitating the same. To quote from official source (http://www.omanet.om/english/misc/omanise.asp) “In Oman, the Omanisation programme has been in operation since 1988, working toward replacing expatriates with trained Omani Personnel. by the end of 1999, the number of Omanis in government services exceeded the set target of 72%, and in most departments reached 86% of employees. The Ministry has also stipulated fixed Omanisation targets in six areas of the private sector. Most companies have registered Omanisation plans. Since April 1998 a ‘green card’ has been awarded to companies that meet their Omanisation targets and comply with the eligibility criteria fro labour relations. The names of these companies are published in the local press and they receive preferential treatment in their dealings with the Ministry”, says it all about the grand plans being adopted so as to make the country self reliant by leveraging its own human resource.
(9) Women empowerment
Empowering the women is one of the major contributors towards the development of the nation. The emphasis given by His Majesty and his commensurate policies so as to provide the women citizens the right platform for national growth is second to none, especially when compared with those developed nations. October 2010 issue of the Oman Economic Review (OER) rightly dedicated their issue on the most powerful women in business in Oman, which confirms the forwarding looking policies of His Majesty, for Omani women to have full civil and political rights, including the right to vote, standing for the membership of the consultative council (Majlis A’Shura), state council (Majlis A’Dawla), the board of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and various other bodies. Snapshots provided in the October 2010 issue of OER rightly depicts the contribution of enterprising women citizens of the Sultanate like Abla Al Riyami, Gas Director, PDO, Amal Bahwan, Director, Suhail Bahwan Group, Areej Mohsin Haider Darwish, Joint Deputy Managing Director, MHD, Her Excellency, Dr. Rawiyah Bint Saud Al Busaidiyah, Minister of Higher Education, Her Excellency Dr. Rajiha Bint Abdulameer Bin Ali are few of the enlightening and glaring examples of the tremendous contribution of women towards the development of the Sultanate.
Author:
Manishankar Chakraborty is from the Faculty of Business Studies at Ibra College of Technology, Sultanate of Oman, in addition to over 10 years of experience in the corporate world and academia in UAE and India. He also blogs at http://www.manishankarthetrainer.blogspot.com and microblogs at twitter.com/manitwitts, and can be reached at emailmanishankar@gmail.com. His Hobbies include Article Writing and Case Study Writing (Over 460 publications till date in various global publishing houses).
