President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja on Sunday, October 12, for Rome, Italy, to attend the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Meeting, which will focus on tackling security challenges in West Africa.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the meeting will begin on October 14 and will gather African leaders, intelligence and military chiefs, and representatives of international organisations to address regional terrorism, maritime insecurity, and cross-border crime.
The Aqaba Process, launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan and co-chaired by Jordan and Italy, is a counter-terrorism initiative that promotes cooperation among nations to confront global security threats.
This year’s meeting will examine the spread of terrorist networks across West Africa, the link between crime and terrorism, and the overlap between Sahel-based insurgencies and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. Participants will also discuss ways to combat online radicalisation and disrupt digital networks used for extremist recruitment and propaganda.
President Tinubu is expected to take part in the plenary sessions and hold bilateral talks with other leaders to strengthen collaboration on regional security and stability.
He will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed, among other senior officials.
The Aqaba Process remains a key international platform for building partnerships to counter terrorism and insecurity in Africa and beyond.
