God knows best: APEC PNG 2018: My way

About the Book

Lahui Ako, a former diplomat, and PNG APEC Senior Official, recounts the complex, difficult, and sometimes treacherous path he faced in the world of multilateral diplomacy, both by himself, and his country, when it committed to host and chair APEC in 2018. He tells of the political barriers, the diplomatic innuendos, the financial hurdles, and the organizational complexity he encountered, from the planning phases in 2012, right up to being in the cross-fire of the nationalistic Trump officials, and China’s aggressive “wolf warrior” diplomats where hard choices had to be made in November, 2018. Ultimately, there wont be a consensus APEC 2018 Leaders’ Declaration, but Lahui and his team will acquit themselves well; simply, because, their God knows best.

About the Author

Lahui Ako is a retired Public Servant. He was Director-General of the PNG APEC Secretariat, and was the PNG APEC Senior Official in 2018. He joined the PNG public service in 1993 as a Registry Clerk in DFAT. He was Chair of the APEC FoTC on Urbanization, the BMC (2019), and was PNG’s rep to the AVG in 2019. He served as First Secretary at the PNG Embassy in Beijing, PRC from 2003-2007.

Lahui holds a Master in Strategic Management (2011), from the UPNG, and a CAPM (No: 6822778). He has also written the following books: “Towards a PNG Foreign Policy White Paper (2022); “Nameless Warriors: The Ben Moide Story (2012); A Logohu in China (2007); and, “Upstream, through endless sands of blessings (2005).

He is a “Honorary member” of the “PIB, NGIB, PIR Association” of Australia.