Jordanian PM opens a Twitter account

Jordanian Prime Minister Awn al-Khasawinah’s Twitter account, @JordanPremier, had over 1,000 followers Thursday, three days after his first tweet.

“I am pleased to start using Twitter to start direct channels of communication with everybody and follow up on issues being discussed,” he said in his first tweet.

So far, the premier’s tweets have been about the rights of teachers and students and the Jordan-EU task force meeting held last week on Wednesday at the Dead Sea. “I am optimistic about the Jordan-EU task force meeting,” he said, adding that he hopes citizens will benefit from the outcomes of the meeting.

According to a social media analyst, 50,000 Jordanians were using Twitter as of last May. Former Prime Minister Samir Rifai (@SamirAlRifai) also used Twitter to communicate with the public and is still active on the site with around 14,000 followers.

Perhaps the best known Jordanian in the “Twittersphere” is Her Majesty Queen Rania (@QueenRania), who has nearly two million followers.