UK to enhance migration cooperation with Kosovo and Serbia, tackling organized crime

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is traveling to Kosovo and Serbia to strengthen cooperation on security, addressing irregular migration, and combating serious organized crime.

Ahead of the Berlin Process Summit, a diplomatic meeting aimed at advancing the government’s agenda for stronger security partnerships and enhanced migration cooperation, David Lammy will witness the use of UK technology to detect drugs and weapons hidden in vehicles. He will also see drones and cameras in action, tracking key smuggling routes and preventing the dangerous and illegal crossing of borders.

The Foreign Secretary's visit marks another step in pushing for greater action upstream and builds on the announcement of the world’s first sanction regime targeting organized immigration crime.

During the visit, the Foreign Secretary will sign an agreement between the UK and Serbia, reinforcing their shared commitment to a free, open, peaceful, and secure cyberspace, and to countering malicious cyber actors.

The UK has a long-standing role and significant legacy in promoting security in the region, including in Kosovo, where it has maintained a presence through NATO's KFOR mission since 1999. The Foreign Secretary will also meet with British troops serving in KFOR, NATO's largest overseas mission, which plays a key role in ensuring a safe and secure environment and the freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo.

"Britain is directly targeting people smugglers and criminal gangs who have turned the Western Balkans into a key transit route for irregular migration and serious organized crime," the Foreign Secretary will say to partners during his visit to the region this week, according to a statement from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office.

With nearly 22,000 people recorded using the Western Balkans as a route into Europe last year, the Foreign Secretary will meet with his counterparts to bolster UK-Serbian cooperation by signing an agreement on Organized Immigration Crime, first outlined by Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the European Political Community.

This agreement will enable both countries to exchange information more swiftly and directly, aiding in the fight against and disruption of organized immigration crime. It is part of the government's broader strategy to address the issue at every stage of the people smuggling process, collaborating with neighboring countries to pool resources, share intelligence, and coordinate tactics.

This follows the Organised Immigration Crime Summit hosted in London this week by the Prime Minister and Home Secretary, which forms part of the toughest-ever international effort to combat people smuggling gangs and deliver on the public’s priorities for secure borders.

During the summit, £30 million in funding was announced to target supply chains, illicit finances, and trafficking routes, alongside an additional £3 million to help the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) expand its capacity to prosecute organized international smugglers.

The Prime Minister also revealed that more than 24,000 individuals with no right to remain in the UK have been removed since July—the highest rate of returns in eight years—as the government works to restore order to the immigration system.

The UK will host a meeting of Western Balkans leaders at the Berlin Process Summit in London in the autumn of 2025, aiming to promote stability, security, and economic cooperation, address gender inequality and violence against women and girls, and intensify efforts to combat irregular migration passing through the region.

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