President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja on Sunday for Rome to attend the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Meeting, which will focus on addressing West Africa’s security challenges.
The trip was announced in a statement by the Presidential Spokesperson, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
The high-level summit, scheduled to begin on Tuesday, will bring together African leaders, top intelligence and military officials, as well as representatives of key intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations.
The Aqaba Process, launched in 2015 by Jordan’s King Abdullah II and co-chaired by the Jordanian and Italian governments, serves as a global platform for counter-terrorism cooperation.
This year’s meeting will address the growing security threats in West Africa, including the expansion of terrorist networks across the Sahel and the increasing link between land-based terrorism and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
Participants will share intelligence insights and explore enhanced regional and international collaboration to combat cross-border threats. Discussions will also cover strategies to counter online radicalisation and disrupt digital channels used for extremist propaganda and recruitment.
President Tinubu is expected to hold bilateral meetings with other leaders to strengthen security coordination across the subregion.
The President will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Defence, Badaru Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Amb. Mohammed Mohammed, among other senior officials.
