Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov read out Putin's message at the opening of the plenary session of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum.
"African states have enormous economic and human potential, and they are playing an increasingly important role in global politics," the message reads.
Russia has stepped up cooperation with Africa across many areas, including in the field of ensuring national security and food security of African countries, in the fight against terrorism, natural disaster response and epidemic prevention, Putin said in his greeting.