The fifth BRICS summit has opened in Durban, South Africa. This is the first time the meeting has been held on the African continent.

Heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have attended the opening ceremony of the five-nation BRICS summit for emerging market powers. 

The theme of the two-day summit is, "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Integration and Industrialization". These summits are convened to seek common ground on areas of importance for these major economies.  What this means for South Africa and all of these countries is it makes them less dependent on the volatility of the U.S. dollar and the euro. It sends a message that these emerging countries will not be bullied by western power politics.
This is good for South Africa’s future. Collins Chabane, South Africa's Minister for Performance Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration, wants to integrate the African Union into BRICS. "We wish to align BRICS' interests with the integration agenda in Africa, and not just focusing on access to our resources," Collins Chabane noted.

He furthermore reminded BRICS members that "Africa is the fastest growing power after Asia, and offers the highest return on investments of any region. The African Continent constitutes 60 percent of the world's unused agricultural land. Africa is also very rich in energy resources and minerals."