Oman: Haitham’s reshuffle plays well with reform advocates

A wide-ranging government reshuffle announced by Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said in a series of royal decrees on 18 August has been widely welcomed, reflecting a departure from the concentration of senior portfolios on one person – as practiced by the late Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al-Said – the retirement of long-serving fixtures of the Qaboos decades and a rationalisation of government offices and responsibilities.