Leaders from across Europe, North Africa, and the U.S. attended a one-day senior leadership symposium (SLS), May 16, in Cartagena, Spain, as part of exercise Phoenix Express 2017.

The symposium was hosted by the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, a premier Department of Defense institution for building relations and understanding in the NESA region.

"The [Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies'] primary purpose is to bring people who are dealing with transnational issues into a room together to share experiences and shared solutions," said Dr. Jennifer Jefferis, SLS moderator and professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. "Having that strategic level conversation to supplement the tactical exercises occurring gives leaders a better opportunity to understand each other and draw on a base of shared trust."

As part of exercise Phoenix Express 2017, the symposium provided an opportunity for attending nations to discuss real world challenges and to have a dialogue on how to better address challenges that no individual nation is capable of tackling alone.

Jefferis said that having all the technical capabilities in the world won't help you if you don't have established relationship with partners you can trust.

"But if you don't know who you're calling, or don't know if the answers to the questions are truthful or expertise is legitimate," said Jefferis.
"You're limited to what you can actually take from that."

SLS attendees participated in a roundtable style format where they were able to provide insight into their countries' maritime issues while also highlighting maritime domain best practices.

"The SLS for our European and North African allies and partners achieved its two objectives," said Brian Lisko, U.S. Africa Command maritime programs branch officer. "The first objective was a candid and frank discussion of the transnational threats in the region, maritime migration challenges and regional solutions. The second objective was the ability of senior leaders to meet new peers and renew old friendships. Developing trust is so important because you can't surge it."

An issue that Lisko discussed during the symposium was the rise of people smuggling networks operating in the Mediterranean Sea and how the criminal organizations responsible for these illicit undertakings are making vast amounts of profit.

Lisko cited a European Boarder and Coast Guard Agency report that estimated smuggling networks made more than 4 billion euros from their criminal activities in 2015.

"The human misery inflicted by these smuggling networks puts thousands of lives at risk in the Mediterranean Sea," said Lisko. "Smugglers don't care about the migrants, they just want to make the money. That's their driver."

Participants discussed matters not only during the formal discussion times but were able to meet one-on-one with their counterparts from various nations during breaks between sessions.

Exercise Phoenix Express 2017 is one of three U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet-facilitated regional exercises part of a comprehensive strategy to provide collaborative opportunities amongst African forces and international partners that address maritime security concerns.

This is the 13th iteration of exercise Phoenix Express and is designed to improve regional cooperation, increase maritime domain awareness, information-sharing practices, and operational capabilities in order to enhance efforts to promote safety and security in the Mediterranean Sea.

Participating nations include Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, the Netherlands, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey and the United States.

Phoenix Express began in 2004 as a proof of concept tabletop and communications exercises in the Mediterranean.

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