February 1-11, 2021 – Dr. Gawdat Bahgat led the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies Executive Seminar on Global Power Competition (GPC). More than 80 foreign service and military officers from the United States and 26 other countries participated in the virtual seminar. The topics included military capabilities, economic development, technology and national security, and the war on terrorism. In order to address these complex topics, the NESA Center brought in speakers from a multitude of backgrounds, ranging from think-tanks, senior, current, and former U.S. government officials, and scholars. Participants engaged with speakers in interactive multi-lingual (English, Arabic, and Russian) discussions during the Q&A sessions throughout the seminar.

A joint session Washington Seminar (and the Executive Seminar) was held on the last day where foreign diplomats in Washington, DC joined the other participants. Two senior former U.S. diplomats spoke on United States foreign policy under the Biden Administration. The virtual seminar provided a well-rounded, varied range of insights into the many factors that shape the global positionality of global powers such as the U.S., China, and Russia.