Continuity of the Alliance 2000-2010

 

The year 2000 marked the 200th anniversary of the formal agreement between Sayyid Sultan bin Ahmad Al Busaidi and Captain John Malcolm on 18th January 1800 which secured the British alliance with Oman through British recognition of Oman as the predominant power in the area. 

The agreement stated that “an English gentleman of respectability...shall always reside at the port of Muscat” and that “the friendship of the two States may remain unshook till the end of time, and till the sun and moon have finished their revolving career”.

The continuity of the alliance was celebrated with Operation Saif Saree’a (Swift Sword) 2 in 2001 involving nearly a quarter of the British Army, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy alongside HM The Sultan’s armed forces. There were regular Omani military appearances at the Edinburgh Tattoo. The Anglo Omani Society celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2006 with a reception at Lancaster House in London. The pattern of Royal and ministerial visits was maintained in the new century while cooperation grew in education, tourism and on a wide range of projects developing the Sultanate’s economy and environment.

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