Renaissance Day in Oman

Held on 23 July, this day commemorates the accession of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos to the throne. Historically, Qaboos acceded to the throne on 23 July 1970 with the aim of ending the country's isolation and using its oil revenue for modernization and development, moving to Muscat. There he declared that the country would no longer be known as Muscat and Oman, but would change its name to "the Sultanate of Oman" in order to better reflect its political unity.

Among the main features of the modern Omani Renaissance, since its beginning under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, is the special and deep relation between the leader and his subjects across the Sultanate. On the one hand, under this relation, the Omani citizen, since the beginning has been the focus of attention and priority as he was considered and still is the most precious wealth of this homeland. On the other hand, there has been a strong believe in the human resources development as a main pillar for the comprehensive and sustainable development.

This day is now celebrated as the Day of the Renaissance. It is now an official public holiday for employees at ministries, public authorities and other departments of the state's administrative apparatus. Furthermore, the private sector will partake in the celebration of this holiday. Emplyers and employees are, however, allowed to negotiate working term on this holiday if it is necessary, this pertains to those employees in the private sector.