New Delhi: Ankara and New Delhi are traditional allies but with Turkey cosying up to Pakistan, India has moved to protect its domestic interests.

Turkey’s defence exhibition is an acknowledgement of the strong bond that exists between Pakistan and Turkey, said Pakistan Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Swati at the fifth edition of Turkey's Defence Exhibition, which commenced at the Pakistan-China Friendship Center in Islamabad on Thursday.

The minister said Turkey's defence industry had reached the threshold of international standards.

Both Pakistan and Turkey are responsible states and committed to work for international peace, harmony and stability, the minister said, adding: “Our bilateral engagements have been important not only for peace and stability but also for socio-economic development of our people,” he added.

The government is committed to facilitate the businessmen through removing all the hurdles in the way of business activities, Swati said, adding, “We want to provide all-out facilities to the businessmen under a system.”

The development comes a day after India cut down its defence exports to Turkey, including explosives and detonators, due to Ankara's growing military cooperation with Islamabad, the Indian daily Economic Times reported.

Last week, Ankara backed Islamabad at the Financial Action Task Force in Paris, thereby helping Pakistan to avoid being blacklisted by the global anti-money laundering watchdog.

In late September, during his UN General Assembly speech, Erdogan called for an India-Pakistan dialogue on the long-disputed region of Kashmir.

India responded by saying that the Turkish president's statement was "biased and unwarranted" and told the Turkish government to get a deeper understanding of the issue, which was an internal matter for India and Pakistan.