Oman's sultan arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to meet with the Saudi king, starting the first visit by an Omani ruler in years against the backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war in Yemen and the sultanate's worsening economic woes. With trumpets blaring and fighter jets streaking overhead, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said landed in Neom, a futuristic desert city planned along the kingdom's Red Sea coast. Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, greeted him on the tarmac and guided him down a long lavender carpet for palace meetings.
The choice to make Saudi Arabia Sultan Haitham's first foreign destination since taking power last year signals the states' mutual self-interest and Oman's respect for the influence of Saudi Arabia, the spiritual anchor of the Sunni Muslim world and the region's largest economy with its vast oil reserves.
Sultan Haitham ascended the throne after the death of the long-ruling Sultan Qaboos bin Said, whose public appearances grew scarce as he aged.
Oman, sandwiched between Saudi Arabia and its archrival Iran, has long played the role of neutral mediator, particularly in efforts to settle the seven-year-old conflict in Yemen. The costly war, pitting a Saudi-led military coalition against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, has spawned the world's worst humanitarian crisis.