Oman may have its first Crown Prince

– Vinayak Barot

New Delhi: The Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tarik, has announced to amend the Constitution to facilitate the appointment of the Crown prince of Oman to clean the country’s politics.

The Crown Prince of Oman will serve Oman the way the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad Bin-Sultan (MBS) does in his nation.

According to Oman’s media, this step of Oman’s Sultan will bring transparency and improve the work of the government.

The Constitution of Oman will be amended after a year of the death of former Sultan Qaboos bin-Said, who had tried to develop the Gulf nation and keep the Shia-Sunni tension in check.

“Relations of Oman with the rich gulf countries will improve once it has a Crown Prince. It will also inculcate political transparency in Oman,” political observers said.

Oman will announce its Crown Prince like Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabian King Salman has already announced his heir apparent Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.

Sultan Haitham bin Tarik had reconstituted several ministries last year and changed their names.

Professor Al-Saif of Kuwait University said that “This is a revolutionary step. Haitham understood all the things but amendment in the constitution of Oman will not be easy.”

Some political experts said that “Economically Oman is weaker nowadays and is trying to develop transparency in its administration and government. Last year’s debt of Oman was 60 percent of its GDP. Foreign reserves of Oman may decrease next year.”

Oman is also a crude oil-producing nation but affected by the low price of crude oil in the international market.