Haitham bin Tariq sworn in as Oman's new Sultan

Sultan Qaboos who was the longest reigning leader in the history of the Arab World died on Friday at the age of 79. Haitham bin Tariq who is the 65 year old cousin of Sultan Qaboos and has served as the Culture Minister has now been sworn in as the new royal ruler.

The government made a tweet saying:

Haitham bin Tariq was sworn in as the new sultan of the country… after a meeting of the family which decided to appoint the one who was chosen by the sultan,

Sultan Qaboos was not married and did not have any children so his successor is now his cousin. According to the Oman’s constitution, the royal family gets three days to appoint a successor otherwise the successor would be the person chosen by Qaboos in a letter addressed to the family.

Haitham bin Tariq addressed the nation and said that the foreign policy would be maintained which was built on peaceful coexistance and friendly relations with all nations.

His his speech he said:

We will continue to follow in the same course the late Sultan adopted … embracing foreign policies based on peaceful coexistence among peoples and countries without any interference in the domestic affairs of other states,

The position of Sultan is the most important one and holds the position of the country’s most important decision maker and the prime minister, commander of the army, minister of defense, finance and foreign affairs.

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