AMMAN, May 25 (AFP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II returned home Tuesday, state radio reported, after a 17-day tour of Europe and North America during which he secured "serious promises" of debt forgiveness. The 37-year-old monarch flew in from the United States to a welcome by members of the royal family and the prime minister which coincided with Jordan's first independence day anniversary since the death of King Hussein in February. The king, who set off May 8 with the aim of securing forgiveness of as much as 50 percent of Jordan's 6.8 billion dollar debt, succeeded in gaining "serious promises to forgive some of the debt," Al-Rai newspaper reported Monday quoting Prime Minister Abdel Rauf Rawabdeh. Rawabdeh, who accompanied the monarch during talks with world leaders in Germany, Britain, Canada and the United States, returned to Amman on Friday. US President Bill Clinton pledged, after talks with Abdullah on May 18, that the United States would lobby the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialised nations to forgive much of Jordan's debt during a G7 meeting in June. The Amman press on Monday hailed King Abdullah for "restoring Jordan's international stature" which many Jordanians believed would be lost with the death of King Hussein. "The world has united in admiration for the youthful king's ability and his far-sightedness in healing the financial situation which has stunted Jordan's growth," wrote a columnist in the independent Al-Rai newspaper. King Abdullah later celebrated the 53rd anniversary of Jordan's independence from Britain at a party hosted by the prime minister as the rest of Jordan enjoyed a public holiday with little official celebration. Less than 24 hours after his arrival back in Amman, Jordan's globe-trotting monarch is due to fly to Gaza Wednesday for a meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his first visit to the Palestinian territories since becoming king. Jordan's official news agency Petra said Abdullah would brief Arafat on the meetings he held with Western leaders during his tour and stressed the king's support for eventual Palestinian independence. -=-=- 