Egypt fallout: Oman ruler postpones India trip

NEW DELHI: With stalwarts of the Arab world falling to high-decibel democracy protests, Oman’s ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said has postponed a visit to India this week. Sultan Qaboos was to have meetings with PM Manmohan Singh early this week and was also scheduled to vacation for a while in Jodhpur, sources said. Both events were cancelled.
The visit was happening at a time when Egypt was in turmoil and Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak was on the verge of quitting office.Protests were already breaking out in Yemen, Libya looked like it could come under the influence while in Khartoum, disgruntled Sudanese took to the streets as well as the Algerians.
In the Gulf, Bahrain, an emirate next door to Oman, is erupting. While Bahrain has a unique problem of a Shia population under a Sunni ruler, the prospect of popular unrest was a big factor in the Sultan’s calculations. In nearby Kuwait, for instance, the ruler has distributed over $3,500 to every citizen.
Oman is probably India’s most important Gulf partner. Indian companies, according to officials, are setting up manufacturing facilities at a free trade zone being developed in the port town of Sohar, about 200 km from capital Muscat.