His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday received a warm welcome from thousands of community leaders and tribesmen in Naour.

During a visit to the district, part of a series of tours King Abdullah has been making to various areas of the country to meet with citizens and listen to their needs and concerns, representatives of several tribes highlighted the economic and political challenges facing the Kingdom in addition to their communities’ needs.

King Abdullah’s visit began with a visit to the Abu Nukla Basic Education School, where he instructed authorities to construct a new building to replace the current premises.

Situated 20km south of the city centre, Naour became part of the Greater Amman Municipality four years ago.

More than 100,000 citizens from different tribal affiliations live in the district, which encompasses 20 villages that sufferi high rates of unemployment among the younger generation.

“Several tribes are living in this part of the Kingdom setting an example of warm coexistence and understanding between residents who rank the country’s interests above all considerations,” Senator Ahmad Ajarmeh said in his speech.

Referring to the opposition’s calls for reform, Ajarmeh noted that King Abdullah was the first to highlight the need for comprehensive reform in order to keep up with regional and global developments and to reflect positively on peoples’ living standards.

Ajarmeh noted that reform cannot be achieved overnight and needs time, patience and political will, which he said was clear in many of King Abdullah’s letters of designation to successive governments.

Referring to the district’s needs, the senator said the unemployment rate is high among young people, noting that there are graduates who finished university 10 years ago and are still jobless.

In his speech yesterday, Naour MP Anwar Ajarmeh said the ongoing economic and national dialogue set an example of existing political will by the country’s leadership, noting that unlike neighbouring countries, Jordan has been taking steps towards reform for many years.

“Our reform measures were called for by the Hashemite leadership, which prioritizes the interest of the country and the people. Some groups have tried to use this issue to impose their agendas on the country and tamper with its national unity. We will not allow anyone to undermine our achievements made over the past decades,” he added.

Ajarmeh also said the district requires more government attention in terms of public service provision, especially healthcare, education and infrastructure development. The deputy called for the establishment of a development complex to absorb the increasing demand for jobs by the youth in the area.

Pointing out that Naour is represented by only one deputy in the Lower House, the deputy highlighted the need for an additional seat under the dome for the district, which has an electoral base of more than 32,400 voters.

Naour residents have also requested a military hospital and a polytechnic institute to train the unemployed on jobs most required by the local market in addition to financial support for nearly 15 charity societies offering services to needy families in the area.