Oman

Abstract

Oman's moderate foreign policy approach led the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to entrust it with the task of formulating postwar security arrangements in late 1991. With a comprehensive Gulf security arrangement more elusive than ever, Oman shifted its policy emphasis during the course of 1992 to ways of diffusing intra-GCC friction. The challenge of creating jobs for the rapidly growing indigenous population, that is, making the work force Omani, constituted an acute problem, especially in view of the sultanate's presumably diminishing oil reserves. With a coherent Gulf security policy more elusive than ever, Oman shifted its emphasis to finding ways to deal with intra-GCC threats. Reflecting its independence in foreign policy matters, the sultanate made concerted efforts to politically rehabilitate the countries which had not demonstrated support for Kuwait during the Gulf crisis. Intent on keeping all channels of communication open and maintaining an independent foreign policy, Oman cultivated its relationships with the states in the region carefully.