My friend and former colleague Richard Muir, who has died aged 81, was a diplomat central to the process of sustaining and nurturing the skein of relationships between Britain and the Sultanate of Oman.
These go back centuries but have grown exponentially since the renaissance of Oman from 1970 onwards under Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Richard and I were both British ambassadors in the capital, Muscat, in the 1980s and 90s, and both chairmen of the Anglo-Omani Society (now the British Omani Society) in the 2000s and 2010s. Clarity of mind, coupled with empathy and understanding, made Richard an influential if low-key player in an important set of relationships for both sides.
