India, Pakistan will be friends: Kalam

On the first visit by an Indian head of state to South Africa, the place where Mahatma Gandhi launched the Satyagraha movement, Kalam said European countries fought each other for over a 100 years.

"But today there is European Union and there is common currency," the President said at a reception given in his honour by the Indian High Commissioner SS Mukherjee. "Like that one day will come it will happen here. We (India and Pakistan) too will become friends", he said in reply to a query.

The Presidential visit was significant because it coincided with the decade-long relationship and 100th anniversary of establishment of historical links by Mahatma Gandhi. Both India and South share commonality of views and cooperate very closely in international arena, he said.