President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will on Sunday depart Abuja for Rome, Italy, to attend the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Meeting, which will focus on addressing security challenges in West Africa.
The high-level gathering, scheduled to begin on October 14, will bring together Heads of State, government officials, senior military and intelligence officers from Africa, as well as representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations.
Launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, the Aqaba Process is a counter-terrorism initiative jointly hosted by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian government. It seeks to enhance regional and international cooperation in tackling terrorism and transnational organised crime.
In a statement, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said discussions at the meeting would centre on the growing terror threats across West Africa, including the link between land-based terrorism in the Sahel and maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea.
“Participants will exchange assessments of the security situation in the region and explore collaborative strategies to address cross-border threats. They will also deliberate on ways to counter online radicalisation and disrupt digital networks used for terrorist recruitment and propaganda,” Onanuga said.
According to the statement, President Tinubu will also hold bilateral meetings with other world leaders on the sidelines of the summit to discuss joint efforts in addressing rising insecurity in the subregion.
The President will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed, and other senior government officials.