Former Head of UN Mission in Kosovo Mr. Joachim Rücker visits IBC-M

On Tuesday, May 7th, IBC-M hosted former Head of UN mission in Kosovo Mr. Joachim Rücker. After touring IBC-M, Mr. Rücker met with Interim Director Mihone Kerolli-Mustafa and the Heads of the Academic faculties to discuss IBC-M’s progress in achieving its vision to help Mitrovica become an economically vibrant hub in the Western Balkans that demonstrates socio-ethnic inclusion of the various groups and communities of the region.

Mr. Rücker also led a lecture on “Good Economic Governance and Sustainable Development” with IBC-M students. During his lecture, he posed many thought-provoking questions to students, such as

  • Does good economic governance work across countries?
  • Why does inflation remain so low in spite of fiscal policies?
  • How do new expensive, fiscal policies increase or decrease inequality in our societies?
  • Why has the digital revolution not led to any significant increase in productivity?

After the lecture, students asked several questions about the intersection of good governance and sustainable development. In particular, students were interested in the ideal balance of regulation and innovation. Mr. Rücker stated that it is indeed a delicate balance. He shared an example of intellectual property on the internet and how society is grappling with finding a balance between regulation and innovation on this issue and similar ones.

Following the lecture, Mr. Rücker toured Mitrovica with IBC-M staff. Upon the completion of his visit, he expressed his appreciation for the work IBC-M is doing for its students, Mitrovica, Kosovo, and the Western Balkans.

Mr. Joachim Rücker served as Head of UN mission in Kosovo in 2006; he is an economist, independent consultant and former Ambassador of Germany. Until 2017, he was also the Special Representative of the Federal Government for the Middle East Stability Partnership. Previous positions include Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, President of the UN Human Rights Council, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Kosovo and Inspector-General of the German Foreign Office. For almost a decade, Joachim Rücker served as Mayor of the industrial city of Sindelfingen.