Lieutenant-General Malick bin Suleiman Al Ma’amari was commenting on a report by the UK-based Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), published on Saturday, that ranked Oman as the first Arab, third Asian and 22nd worldwide in peace and security. He said His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s government had succeeded in ensuring that peace and security prevailed throughout the country, adding that the country’s high ranking was also “the outcome of years of creditability and transparency.”
Speaking to the official Oman News Agency (ONA), General Ma’amari claimed that the government’s “wise and enlightened policies” were now globally acknowledged as was Sultan Qaboos as a man of peace.
The speeches and media interviews of Sultan Qaboos always called for peace and reflected his hope that the whole world would enjoy security and welfare, he added. The new recognition by EIU was “well deserved” and was the outcome of hard work by the different government bodies since the country’s renaissance began in 1970, he said.
“The efforts are still continuing, by the Grace of God. The Sultanate has nothing to hide from its citizens or the world as it deals with the different issues with transparency and discusses them with the respective international organisations… The global recognition for the Sultanate came as a result of these policies,” the ROP chief said. He said criminal statistics released by the police reflected all types of crimes accurately, a trend, he added, recognised by the Interpol and other international organisations.
The EIU ranking was based on a number of criteria and 1-5 scale. The country that gets 1 on this scale was considered the most peaceful. The major parameters included organised internal conflicts, potential violent demonstrations, level of violent crimes, lack of political instability and respect of human rights and the size of importing heavy traditional weapons for each 100,000 persons.
Among other criteria were terrorist attacks, number of mortalities due to organised internal conflicts, military expenditure as a percentage of GDP, number of armed forces personnel per each 100,000 people and the contribution to UN forces in 2006/2007. Also considered were the election process, efficiency of the government, its performance, political participation by citizens, political awareness, democracy, and transparency.
