Douveri Henao on the "Hughes News" - Episode 3: Papua New Guinea

Dear Readers,

Hi everyone, I’m Eleanor Shiori Hughes, and I’m a Non-Resident Fellow with econVue and host of the Hughes News podcast. Somehow, April has already graced itself with its presence, which means that spring is finally in the air - at least here in the Washington, DC area. With Monday’s weather being less than ideal because of torrential rainfall, it was a perfect day for me to record episode 3 of my podcast featuring my friend Douveri Henao from Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Douveri is currently the CEO and founder of Legacy Group, a geopolitical business investment firm headquartered in Port Moresby. As far as I’m concerned, his wealth of knowledge on PNG foreign policy landscape is truly unmatched. PNG is strategically located at the southern end of the second island chain, just above Australia.

About My Featured Guest

Douveri Henao, Founder and CEO of Legacy Group

❝If there’s one thing that America possesses in PNG and broadly in the Pacific, along with its West, and if I could say Anglo-West partners … it’s the Judeo-Christian values. That particular part of our connection has been around for hundreds of years, and it’s a major force that everyday Americans are engaging with Pacific Islanders … China has no equivalent of that, and that’s an important calculation that folks need to understand … I think, Eleanor, that will be more fundamental to [PNG] than the tariffs.

– Douveri Henao’s take on one of America’s greatest strengths vis-a-vis the Pacific Islands region

A lawyer by trade (pun intended), Douveri worked in private practice before he joined PNG’s Department of Justice and Attorney General within its International Law Division. This work gave him exposure to several important umbrella bodies such as the World Trade Organization, the European Union and the Melanesian Spearhead Group. This subsequently led to his employment with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and with the Institute of National Affairs Papua New Guinea. Douveri became the Executive Director of PNG’s Business Council in 2012, where he actively engaged in a breadth of policy development, government and industry negotiations, and even advising the Papua New Guinea APEC Business Council. More recently, the PNG national cabinet selected Douveri to join the Eminent Persons’ Group to draft Papua New Guinea’s first Foreign Policy White Paper since 1981.

Below is a map that outlines most of the regions within PNG that Douveri mentioned during our recording:

Source: Wikimedia Commons

This podcast was recorded on Monday, April 7th, 2025 in US EST (Tuesday, April 8th in PNG time). Here is list of some of the topics that Douveri and I talked about:

• How Douveri became a keen observer of PNG foreign policy

• A comprehensive breakdown of PNG’s five political regions, including the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, and how geography shapes PNG’s foreign policy

• PNG’s multifaceted relationship with its traditional security partners, namely Australia and the United States, and how it’s navigating the ever-changing geostrategic environment across Asia

• PNG’s reaction to Trump’s announcements on tariffs

• The private sector ecosystem and technological innovation in PNG

• PNG’s plans to release its first foreign policy white paper for the first time since 1981

• The no-confidence vote against PM James Marape, which will be adjudicated in Parliament next Tuesday

You can find the audio version of our podcast recording below:

Closing Thoughts

I have to admit, when I first pressed the record button, I didn’t expect my conversation with Douveri to last for an astonishing 90 minutes! Nonetheless, this wide-ranging discussion was truly a crash-course on PNG foreign policy, and it’s given me plenty of food for thought. To end here, I want to congratulate Douveri for becoming a patron of Sago Network, an organization that advances water sanitation and purification efforts for villages and local municipalities throughout PNG.

As always, thank you all - especially to our econVue subscribers - for engaging with our platform.

Best wishes,

💬 Eleanor

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📍Arlington, VA