From 21–25 April 2025, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies conducted a Senior Executive Seminar (SES), held in Washington, D.C., featuring 43 participants from 33 countries. The seminar focused on maritime security, developments in adaptable technology for the maritime domain, and how the Indo-Pacific impacts global security calculations. Prof. Jeffrey Payne led the seminar with Dr. Gawdat Bahgat serving as Deputy Course Director.

Prof. Jeffrey Payne (left) sits at the speaker table with Raymond Powell (center), while Gregory B. Poling (right) delivers a presentation from the podium during the Senior Executive Seminar.

Topics specifically discussed during the seminar include the underwater domain, information fusion, adoption of critical and emerging technology, maritime aggression, ISR, geopolitical competition, and transnational criminality at sea. Speakers at the event included private sector leaders from technological firms and think tanks, along with U.S. government departments to provide the participants the perspective on how Washington is crafting policy to address an age of greater competition that has relevance to the maritime domain. Key insights and recommendations, along with the full seminar agenda and the outcomes of the tabletop exercise, are available in the report linked below.

Read the report.

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