How Oman Has Become A Key Diplomatic Player In The Middle East

On a beach in Muscat, Oman's capital, families gather on a Friday evening to enjoy a brief respite from the scalding heat of this desert country's summer. Women fully clad in abayas splash amid the gentle waves with their children. Shrieks of laughter fill the warm air. Toddlers build sandcastles at the water's edge.

It's a picture of tranquility that jars with the violent headlines coming from this region. Oman shares a border with Yemen, a country at war. It is situated between powerful rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. And the Gulf of Oman — the sea where locals play — is part of a key oil shipping route for the world, and a place where oil tankers have been attacked in recent weeks.

Yet Oman manages to stay out of it all. In a part of the world afflicted by war, this tiny sultanate, a country of 4.6 million people, has emerged as a quiet facilitator of dialogue. A friend to many opposing sides, it places itself between conflicts without being engulfed by them.