Omani national navy troops salute as Royal Navy vessel Shabab Oman II carrying the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tarik Al Said passes by during the grand naval parade at Qurum Beach in Muscat in the Gulf of Oman, during celebrations to mark the National Day on November 21.
Oman may be 3,000km away from the Horn of Africa, surrounded by the sea. But it has never seen the massive water mass before the Gulf country as a barrier. Now, as landlocked countries in the Horn bid for guarantees to accessing the sea, Oman’s counsel is that such desires need not result in aggression.
On Thursday, Oman marked its National Day, usually a week of celebrations linked to the founding of the Al Abusaid dynasty, the royal house with origins in the 18th century that still leads the country to date. Experts gathered in the capital Muscat to discuss this “enduring cultural legacy,’, according to a theme of a conference that preceded the celebrations.
