“We were holding our breath [for] this day to come!” Buthaina Al-Jabri, the co-founder of the Omani students union in the United Kingdom, told Al-Monitor. On Aug. 18, Oman's new ruler Sultan Haitham restructured the government.
Upon his ascent to the throne in January, Haitham pledged to “undertake necessary measures to restructure the state’s administrative apparatus.” Omani researcher in political sociology Mubarak Al-Hamdani told Al-Monitor he believes the new ruler is pursuing policies recommended by the national strategy Oman 2040.