Muscat – Shawqi Abdulredha Sultan has been awarded an Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by King Charles III for his services to UK-Oman relations, adding a British honour to a career closely associated with strengthening ties between the two countries.

Shawqi was included in the UK government’s 2026 list of foreign national honourees published on August 19. A former secretary-general of the Oman-British Friendship Association, Shawqi said the recognition came as a surprise, particularly after he had received an Omani honour three years earlier.

“I did not see it coming,” Shawqi told Muscat Daily. In January 2023, His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik conferred on him the Order of Royal Commendation, Second Class, in recognition of his contributions to Oman-UK relations.

“I, therefore, thought that the issue had been addressed and that was the end of the matter,” he said.

That changed in May, when the British Embassy in Muscat informed him that a recommendation had been submitted to King Charles for an honorary OBE.

“I was taken aback,” Shawqi said. However, he could not share the news – even with his family – until royal approval was secured and the award made public.

When the confirmation finally arrived at 8pm in Muscat on August 19, the secrecy ended.

“All my children happened to be at home with me when I received the message that it was now official and I could make it public,” he said.

Shawqi’s association with the institutional relationship between the two countries stretches back decades. The Oman-British Friendship Association, now the Omani British Society, was formed in 1991 to promote bilateral trade, partnerships and investment, alongside the wider relationship between the two countries.

The British Embassy in Muscat also congratulated Shawqi, describing the honour as recognition of his services to UK-Oman relations.

For Shawqi, however, the moment was less about titles than the people with whom he could finally share it.

“Naturally, I am honoured and deeply humbled by the experience and by the reaction of my relatives and friends,” he said.