MOSCOW, July 27./TASS/. The potential of the African continent is beyond dispute, as the average annual GDP growth rate of the continent exceeds worldwide indicators, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a plenary meeting of the Russia-Africa economic and humanitarian forum.

"Africa's potential is obvious to everyone," the Russian president said. "Thus, the average annual GDP growth rate of the [African] continent over the past 20 years - 4-4.5% per year - exceeds the global average," he added.

In addition, the population of African countries is approaching 1.5 billion people and is growing faster than anywhere else in the world, the Russian president pointed out. "It is also noteworthy that the growth of the middle class, which creates the main demand for modern goods and services, is higher than in most regions of the world," Putin emphasized.