ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s address to the UN General Assembly on Friday was being relayed in Arabic via his new Twitter account @ArabicIk.

The handle was set up to promote the PM’s social media activity among millions of Arabic speakers around the world.

Launched in May, the account shares videos of Khan’s speeches and interviews along with Arabic messages. The premier has 12.5 million followers on his official Twitter account, the largest of any Pakistani.

“We will be translating the prime minister’s address to the UN General Assembly in Arabic and promoting it through his official Arabic language Twitter account,” Imran Ghazali, general manager of the Information Ministry’s digital media wing, told Arab News.

A team of volunteers would be operating Khan’s Arabic language account with all content translated from Urdu and English and vetted before appearing on the social media platform.

“We have created this account to connect to millions of Arabic speaking people in our brotherly countries such as Saudi Arabia. This will help us promote the prime minister’s vision on Kashmir, Palestine and other international issues in the Arabic language,” Ghazali said.

Pakistan enjoys close ties with many Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Around 3 million Pakistani expats live and work in Saudi Arabia, while the UAE is also the second-largest labor market for Pakistan workers.

“This is the age of internet and social media, and we want to use them in different languages including Arabic to promote a positive image of Pakistan in the world,” Ghazali added.