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Enlarge this imageOmani Sultan Qaboos bin Said, seen during a 2010 ceremony in Muscat, died at the age of 79 after suffering for years from an undisclosed illne s. After a half-century reign, he has been succeeded by Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.Chris Jackson/Getty Imageshide captiontoggle captionChris Jackson/Getty ImagesOmani Sultan Qaboos bin Said, seen during a 2010 ceremony in Muscat, died at the age of 79 after suffering for years from an undisclosed illne s. After a half-century reign, he has been succeeded by Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesFor the first time in roughly half a century, Oman is under new direction. The longest-serving monarch of the Arab world, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, died Friday at the age of 79, ceding the country to his cousin and former culture minister Haitham bin Tariq al-Said. The latter was sworn in as sultan Saturday, a suming the reins of Dwight Gooden Jersey state in a ceremony attended by high-ranking military and government officials. “The trust in us is great and the responsibilities are great,” the new sultan told those a sembled for the occasion, according to the state-run Oman News Agency. He focused on maintaining Oman’s long-standing role as a neutral party for peace in the troubled region.”We will follow the same line as the late sultan,” he said, according to a translation from The A sociated Pre s, “and the principles that he a serted for the foreign policy of our country, of peaceful coexistence among nations and people, and good neighborly behavior of non-interference in the affairs of others.” The speech ushered in a new and unfamiliar era for the country, which had been governed by just one man since Qaboos overthrew his father in a bloodle s palace coup in 1970. Qaboos, who had been educated in the U.K., oversaw something of a revolution in Oman during his reign, guiding the Gulf state in its development from an isolated loner to active member in the Arab League, the United Nations and eventually the World Trade Organization, as well.Enlarge this imageOman new sultan, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, speaks during his swearing-in ceremony Saturday.-/AFP via Getty Imageshide captiontoggle caption-/AFP via Getty ImagesOman new sultan, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, speaks during his swearing-in ceremony Saturday.-/AFP via Getty ImagesSince he took power, Oman has seen a dramatic upswing in its fortunes, increasing its gro s domestic product from about $250 million at the start of Adrian Gonzalez Jersey his reign to a sum better measured in the tens of billions, according to statistics from the World Bank.In recent years the tiny country which boasts a population of only 4.6 million people and a land area smaller than Kansas has played an outsize role in Middle Eastern diplomatic affairs. Nestled on the borders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and war-torn Yemen, and just acro s the Gulf of Oman from Iran and Pakistan, Oman lately has taken on the role of arbiter and peacekeeper in its tumultuous neighborhood. The country, which maintains positive relations with both Iran and the U.S., hosted the secret meetings that eventually resulted in the Iran nuclear deal in 2015. And Oman has repeatedly stepped in to facilitate high-stakes negotiations between the two countries as when Qaboos himself paid half a million each to help secure the release New York Mets Jersey of American prisoners from Iran in 2011. Enlarge this imageHigh-ranking military officers carry the coffin of Oman Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who died at the age of 79. The late sultan oversaw the country’s development for nearly half a century. He was succeeded by former Culture Minister Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, who was sworn in Saturday.AFP via Getty Imageshide captiontoggle captionAFP via Getty ImagesHigh-ranking military officers carry the coffin of Oman Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who died at the age of 79. The late sultan oversaw the country’s development for nearly half a century. He was succeeded by former Culture Minister Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, who was sworn in Saturday.AFP via Getty Images”We always keep a focus not on the negative, but on the positive,” Mohammed bin Awadh al-Ha san, Oman’s permanent representative to the U.N., explained to NPR last year. “When you focus on this, opportunities for peace become quite clear.”Lately, though, the septuagenarian absolute monarch had largely withdrawn from the public eye, as he underwent treatment for a long-undisclosed medical condition, believed to have been colon cancer. World How Oman Has Become A Key Diplomatic Player In The Middle EastMiddle East Tiny Nation Played Pivotal Role In Americans’ Release The silence from the sultan’s palace also raised difficult questions about succe sion, as the popular leader had only briefly married and produced no obvious heir to the sultanate though observers commonly included Haitham, 65, on shortlists of potential succe sors. That expectation came to fruition upon Qaboos’ death. Reuters reports that the late sultan named his succe sor in a sealed envelope. In a reflection of the trust and friendship Oman managed to cultivate among its neighbors and others under Qaboos, Haitham was flooded with words of consolation and congratulations from world leaders Saturday. Among the expre sions of grief over Qaboos’ death was a statement from the U.S. Emba sy in Muscat, Oman’s capital, which mourned “his steadfast leadership embodied his sincerity, his generosity, his tolerance, and his deep love for his country.” “We lost one Jay Bruce Jersey of the world’s most important leaders,” the emba sy wrote in a statement published on Facebook, “an inspiring leader of Oman’s rise and development in half a century.”