The Albanian diaspora in Turkey lobbied the Turkish government for recognition of Kosovo's independence by Turkey.[39] The number of ethnic Albanian Kosovars living in Turkey is estimated to be higher than that of those living in Kosovo itself.[58][59][60] The current AKP Turkish political leadership has acknowledged that there are large numbers of people with Albanian origins within Turkey, more than so in Kosovo and neighbouring Albania combined and are aware of their influence and impact on domestic Turkish politics.[39] Kosovo is the home of Mehmet Akif Ersoy, writer of the Turkish National Anthem, and many other notable Turks with an Albanian origin. There are 20,000 Turks living in Kosovo,[61] and Turkish is one of the official regional languages of Kosovo.