#Oman's new sultan quietly makes his mark as challenges loom

Oman's new sultan quietly makes his mark as challenges loom:

When Oman’s ruler of a half century died without an heir apparent, brief fears of turmoil ended with the quick announcement of a new sultan in this nation on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula.

But instead of the military rulers whose arrivals come with martial music and whose ends often accompany times of trouble in the Mideast, Oman ended up with the culture minister.

That Oman followed its own distinctive, uncommon path after the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said represents perhaps the best testament to his rule over a nation he brought out of the isolationist obscurity imposed by his father and modernized with its oil wealth.

His successor, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, has followed his example in establishing his rule over this country of 2.7 million Omanis and another 1.7 million foreigners as the coronavirus pandemic closed off the sultanate. The outside world and internal challenges, however, are preparing to come crashing in.