In the wake of the end of the official mourning period, the new Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said issued a decree to replace some words in the Omani national anthem that were referring to his late predecessor, Qaboos bin Saeed.
The official news agency reported that the new Sultan issued a decree "to amend Annex 3 attached to the country's flag, emblem and national anthem law".
According to the decree, the words of the anthem that were referring to the late Sultan, “Cheer up, Qaboos came, he will be blessed by the sky, be happy and meet him with supplication" with new words that are: "So raise to the top of the sky, fill the universe with bright, cheer up and enjoy prosperity."
https://twitter.com/OmanNewsAgency/status/1230479693264117760
It is noteworthy that Sultan Qaboos, who took power for nearly 50 years, died on January 10, 2020, at the age of 79. Qaboos was neither married nor having sons or siblings to inherit the country’s rule after him, but only cousins.
In a smooth and swift transfer of power, Omani Minister of Heritage and Culture Haitham bin Tariq Al Said was sworn in after he was appointed Sultan of Oman to succeed his late cousin Qaboos.
Analysts say the new Sultan will preserve the legacy of Qaboos and continue his policy that brought political stability to Muscat in a region often rocked by crises.
The new 65-year-old Sultan is a sports fanatic and took over as Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, before becoming Minister of Heritage and Culture in the 1990s.
Sultan Qaboos pursued a "friend of all" policy and worked as a mediator in the region, especially between Iran and the United States, regarding the nuclear agreement signed in 2015. He also had a role in trying to bring the parties to the conflict in Yemen to the negotiating table with the outbreak of the Gulf crisis.
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