The Manager-Monarch Who Saved Oman |
Six years ago this month, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq inherited a country on the brink. Oman’s beloved ruler of nearly half a century had just died, oil prices had cratered, the COVID-19 pandemic was about to shut down the world, and the sultanate’s debt was spiraling toward 70 percent of GDP. Credit rating agencies had already downgraded Oman to junk status. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was forecasting that the economy would shrink by 10 percent—the worst contraction in the Gulf.
It was, by any measure, the worst possible moment to assume power in a petrostate.
Six years ago this month, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq inherited a country on the brink. Oman’s beloved ruler of nearly half a century had just died, oil prices had cratered, the COVID-19 pandemic was about to shut down the world, and the sultanate’s debt was spiraling toward 70 percent of GDP. Credit rating agencies had already downgraded Oman to junk status. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was forecasting that the economy would shrink by 10 percent—the worst contraction in the Gulf.
It was, by any measure, the worst possible moment to assume power in a petrostate.
Yet now, as Oman marks the sixth anniversary of Sultan Haitham’s accession, the transformation is remarkable. Newly crowned monarchs in the Middle East have a tendency to celebrate by spending big on vanity projects—whether or not they can afford them. Haitham is a rarity: He cut spending. Public debt has been slashed to 34 percent of GDP. Credit ratings have climbed back to investment grade. Foreign direct investment had surged by 121 percent by 2023. The fiscal deficit has become a surplus. And Oman is now positioning itself as a global leader in green hydrogen—the energy source that could define the next century.
This is a story about competent governance at a time when competence in the Gulf is often overshadowed by spectacle. While Saudi Arabia builds mirror cities in the desert and the United Arab Emirates races to Mars, Oman has quietly demonstrated something perhaps more valuable: that steady,........