Westminster told of UK links with Kosovo as MP advocates trade envoy
THE GOVERNMENT has been urged to consider a trade envoy to the Balkans by a Yorkshire MP as he led a Westminster debate on the UK’s relationship with Kosovo.
Keighley MP John Grogan suggested that the November date of the England football team’s European Championship qualifier against Kosovo in the capital Pristina “could be a day to celebrate the UK’s culture and to forge more economic links between our two countries”.
Kosovo, which was at war in 1998 and 1999, declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 and Mr Grogan told the Westminster Hall debate that 116 countries now recognise it as a sovereign state.
Adding that the diaspora of 30,000 Kosovars in the UK are important to encourage economic links, he suggested a trade envoy to the Balkans and that Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers “would be an ideal candidate”.
And he highlighted Kosovar footballer Atdhe Nuhiu, who plays for Sheffield Wednesday and came on late in the Steel City derby on Monday night.
Mr Grogan said: “It would be wrong when talking about the diaspora not to mention sport and culture. (Singers) Rita Ora and Dua Lipa are both of Kosovan extraction.
“You will be familiar with Rita Ora’s first hit, Hot Right Now. She has gone on to have many No. 1 hits.
“There is a big debate in Kosovo about which artist is the greatest. I could not possibly say, but Rita Ora’s dad has a pub in north London – the Queen’s Arms – so that probably does it for me.”