Sultanate of Oman

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Flag of Oman Three horizontal bands of white, red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical band.

The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, a newly established sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, but it never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said al-Said overthrew the restrictive rule of his father; he has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. - CIA World Factbook.

Oman - Fotw
The flag carries the Sultanate's emblem of two crossed swords with a khanjar and belt superimposed.
www.fotw.us/flags/om.html

Oman - wikipedia.org
The direct rule of the sultan gives Oman a largely stable economic and social system free of party politics. Sultan Qaboos, encourages market-orientated policies and private sector development as the mechanism for prosperity and growth.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oman

Oman - U.S. Department of State
About 55% of the population lives in Muscat and the Batinah coastal plain northwest of the capital; about 215,000 live in the Dhofar (southern) region, and about 30,000 live in the remote Musandam Peninsula on the Strait of Hormuz. Some 660,000 expatriates live in Oman, most of whom are guest workers from South Asia, Egypt, Jordan, and the Philippines.
        Since 1970, the government has given high priority to education to develop a domestic work force, which the government considers a vital factor in the country's economic and social progress. In 1986, Oman's first university, Sultan Qaboos University, opened. It has continued to expand, recently adding a law college, and remains the country’s only major public university. More than 300 full and partial scholarships are awarded each year for study abroad.
        There are three private universities and twenty post-secondary education institutions in Oman, including a technical college, banking institute, teacher’s training college, and health sciences institute. A select few of these institutions offer four-year degrees, while the remainder provide two-year post-secondary diplomas. Since 1999, the government has embarked on reforms in higher education designed to meet the needs of a growing population. Approximately 40% of Omani high school graduates pursue some type of post-secondary education.
www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35834.htm