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Ghana's new Ambassador to China, Mr. Anani Okuminyi Demuyakor, arrived in Beijing last Monday to a rousing welcome by the African diplomatic community, to begin his duty tour. Seventeen African Ambassadors, some officials from the various African embassies, as well as the staff of the Ghana Embassy, were at the Beijing Capital Airport to welcome Ambassador Demuyakor. He takes over from Mrs. Helen Mamle Kofi, who completed her duty tour in March this year. Mr. Demuyakor, who speaks and writes the Chinese language fluently, is no stranger to China, as he studied at the University of Hong Kong from 1977 to 1980 and has a certificate in the Chinese language and diplomacy. Again, between 1989 and 1992, he served as a Minister/Counsellor and Deputy Head of the Ghana Mission in Beijing while from 2002 to 2005 he was again posted as the Minister Plenipotentiary to the same mission. He has a varied and distinguished career in the Ghana Diplomatic Service, having served in various capacities at Ghana missions in Harare, Zimbabwe; Monrovia, Liberia and London, the UK. Mr. Demuyakor has also held senior positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2005 until he was appointed Ghana's Ambassador to China, he was the Executive Director of the China-Africa Consultancy Company Limited in Accra. Introducing him to his colleague African Ambassadors, the Deputy Head of the Ghana Mission in Beijing, Mr. Alfred Saame said, "It is our belief that his experience would be brought to bear on the efforts of African ambassadors to accelerate Sino-African relations." He expressed the hope that African ambassadors in Beijing would accord the new ambassador the necessary support as they did to other Ghanaian ambassadors. Welcoming Mr Demuyakor, the Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps and Madagascar Ambassador to China, Mr Victor Sikonina, assured him of their support and friendship. "Be sure that we are all your brothers and sisters and we will co-operate with you and support you to make your work in China successful," he said. Mr Sikonina was hopeful that the presence of the new Ghana Ambassador would make African envoys more vibrant in their relationship with the Chinese government. Responding, Mr Demuyakor said he had accepted to be part of the club of African diplomats in Beijing, adding, "This is the club that I have looked forward to joining." He called for more co-operation and togetherness among African diplomats in Beijing in their quest to improve on the relationship between Africa and China. "We need to get together and know each other better," he added.