Seventy Ghanaian customs officers graduated from an eight-week Chinese language proficiency program on Thursday.

They were the first batch of customs officers to take the course provided by the Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana.

"The study of the Chinese language will be of immense benefit to us due to the high number of Chinese travelers our port officials have to deal with as trade and investment relations between Ghana and China continue to flourish," said Habib Osman, sector commander at the headquarters of Ghana Customs.

Osman called for a continuation of the program so that all customs officers in Ghana could acquire basic working knowledge in the Chinese language.

Chen Mingjin, director of the consular and visa session at the Chinese Embassy in Ghana, said Chinese travelers visiting Ghana would feel at home hearing customs officials address them in Chinese language.

"Language is not only a bridge. It is also affection," Chen said.

One trainee, Janet Adjei-Marfo, said the Chinese language course "will help us to open up to passengers."

"As customs officers, we can now communicate with Chinese travelers in their native language and make them feel at home," she told Xinhua.

More Africans are learning Chinese language at Confucius Institutes across the continent.

Take the Confucius Institute at the University of Rwanda for example. The number of registered students there has increased from over 200 in 2009 to more than 5,100 in 2019, according to Xinhua.

The Confucius Institutes serve as non-profit public institutions to help foreigners better understand China through language teaching and culture introduction in universities outside China.

The first such institute in Africa was established in 2004. As of 2018, there were 54 Confucius Institutes and 27 Confucius Classrooms in 41 African countries.

(With inputs from Xinhua)