One of the notable characteristics of the Sultan’s early years in power was the reversal of his father’s negligible foreign policy. Sultan Qaboos was encouraged by the British to cultivate relations with his neighbours due to the incompatibility of acting for a sovereign state, and it was essential to mitigate the argument that he was a British stooge. The Sultan was aided by the ‘mafia’ or impresarios in cultivating diplomatic relations across the Middle East, and with the United States. In 1971 and 1972 Oman joined the Arab League and the United Nations, whereas the Sultan avoided joining the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) because he wanted to retain control of Oman’s limited vital oil reserves. The Sultan also set about establishing diplomatic relations with his neighbours including the Saudis, and he was cultivated ties with the Shah and King Husayn of Jordan. Joining the ‘king’s club’ was strategically invaluable leading to Iran and Jordan providing military support for the insurgency in Dhofar. Notwithstanding the Sultan’s efforts to establish relations with his neighbours, frontier disputes affected attitudes towards the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). One of the failings of British imperialism in the Persian Gulf was the failure to resolve border disputes prior to the withdrawal from the Gulf in December 1971, and the Foreign Office became a passive observer. The British were unaware of regional attempts to define the frontiers between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia in 1974, and the Foreign Office did little more than provide maps and some documents that provided details about previous frontier negotiations.