Muscat – His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, Supreme Commander, conferred the Order of Royal Commendation and medals of excellent service and competence on senior officers of Royal Oman Police (ROP) on Sunday.

The medals were pinned by Sayyid Shihab bin Tarik al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Affairs, in a ceremony held at Sultan Qaboos Academy for Police Sciences, Nizwa, to celebrate ROP Day, which falls on January 5.

Sayyid Shihab congratulated the officers on the Royal felicitation which, he said, reflects appreciation for the continuous efforts exerted by ROP personnel under the wise leadership of H M the Sultan, Supreme Commander.

The ceremony was attended by Lt Gen Hassan Mohsin al Shuraiqi, Inspector General of Police and Customs, Maj Gen Abdullah Ali al Harthy, Assistant Inspector General of Police and Customs for Operations, Maj Gen Khalifa Ali al Siyabi, Assistant Inspector General of Police and Customs for Administrative and Financial Affairs, and several other senior ROP officers.

The ceremony also marked the graduation of the 46th batch of cadet officers – holders of Diploma in Law and Police Sciences, the 43rd batch of university cadet officers, the tenth batch of service system cadet officers and the 54th batch of specialised cadet officers. The batches included officers from Internal Security Service and Royal Court Affairs.

The celebrations commenced with a salute to Sayyid Shihab and the commandant of the parade requesting him to inspect the front row of the column. The graduates presented a military show before the dais, and the chief guest handed over awards to top graduate officers.

This was followed by the protocol of handing over the banner of Sultan Qaboos Academy for Police Sciences by the 46th to the 47th batch of cadet officers.

The column of the parade chanted the ROP anthem and took the Oath of Loyalty. They chanted ‘Long Live His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, Supreme Commander’ thrice, after which they saluted Sayyid Shihab, marking the end of the parade.

A column of ROP cavalry paraded past the dais to the accompaniment of musical tunes rendered by the ROP band.

The names of winners of ROP awards for 2023 were announced during the ceremony, which was attended by Royal Family members, ministers and advisers, Camillus Wambura, Inspector General of Police of Tanzania, members of State Council and Majlis A’Shura, director generals at government units,  sheikhs and dignitaries of Dakhliyah, and commanders of Sultan’s Armed Forces, ROP, security and military services.