Architect of a modern nation that's one with the world

Muscat: Oman has seen dramatic progress in the last four decades, thanks to the visionary leadership of Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed.

Today the Sultanate has progressed in every aspect and become a modern state as Sultan Qaboos has wisely steered his people on the path of prosperity and stability by giving them equal opportunities to achieve their aspirations through comprehensive and sustainable development.

Ranked among the top 10 of the 500 most influential leaders in the contemporary Arab and Islamic world by the World Islamic Encyclopaedia (WIS), Sultan Qaboos has maintained good relations with all countries of the world, based on optimum co-operation and mutual respect.

There were only three schools in the country in 1970 but today there are over 1,000 schools and 59 higher education institutions for Oman's largely young population. The network of hospitals and medical centres in the country has reached almost every corner of the country, which is a far cry from just three hospitals in Oman when Sultan Qaboos started reforming the system.

Balanced growth

Sultan Qaboos, the only son of the late Sultan Saeed Bin Taimour, has struck a fine balance while developing modern infrastructure. The development has been well-planned. Sultan Qaboos has always stressed on preserving Oman's rich culture and nothing has been done in the name of development that has compromised the heritage, culture or environment of the country.

Sultan Qaboos, who was born in Dhofar in southern Oman on November 18, 1940, has ensured that country is well-connected by a most modern road network which has grown from only a few kilometres of paved roads in the early seventies to a fine network of expressways and highways that give access to the remotest corners of the mountainous country. Eighth in the direct line of the Al Busaidi dynasty, founded in 1744 by Imam Ahmad Bin Saeed, Sultan Qaboos has ruled uninterrupted for the last 40 years and his subjects wish for more progress under him.

He has kept his promise of removing all unnecessary restrictions on the lives and activities of his subjects, who now enjoy life to the full unlike in the pre-seventies. Probably the biggest gift he gave his subjects was the right to elect their representatives in the house of parliament (Majlis Asshura), where elected representatives give their opinion to the government.

Sultan Qaboos has always stressed on the value of human resources and has been urging Omanis to take up employment and contribute in the progress of the country. The government under him has created hundreds of jobs for Omanis under an Omanisation drive.

More than 87 per cent of government jobs are held by the Omanis and the percentage is gradually increasing even in the private sector.

The recent human development index released by UN placed Oman as the most-improved nation over the last 40 years, reflecting on the care given to the country's human resources by Sultan Qaboos.

Sultan Qaboos has also given women in the country equal status and has time and again urged them to play an important role in the development of the country. He has appointed three women ministers in his cabinet and has also appealed to women to take active role in the democratic process.

He has not only freed his subjects from all the ‘unnecessary restrictions' but reaches out to them by conducting unique meet-the-people tour every year. All the ministers travel with him on this tour and Sultan Qaboos patiently hears out his subjects and solves their difficulties on the spot.