President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to depart Abuja today, Sunday, October 12, for Rome, Italy, to participate in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Level Meeting.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the high-level gathering, which commences on October 14, will focus on the worsening security situation across West Africa.
The forum will bring together Heads of State, senior intelligence and defence officials from African nations, as well as representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, to deliberate on regional security concerns.
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Launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan and co-chaired by the Jordanian and Italian governments, the Aqaba Process serves as a counter-terrorism platform addressing complex security challenges facing the West African region.
“The meeting recognises the complex security challenges confronting West Africa, including the expansion of terrorist networks, the growing crime-terror nexus, and the increasing overlap between land-based terrorism in the Sahel and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea,” the statement noted.
It added that participants would exchange assessments of the current security landscape in West Africa, foster collaboration among regional and international partners, and develop strategies to combat terrorism both on land and at sea.
The meeting will also explore ways to coordinate global efforts to counter online radicalisation and disrupt digital networks that promote terrorist propaganda and recruitment.
Onanuga further disclosed that President Tinubu will hold bilateral meetings with other world leaders on the sidelines of the summit to explore new avenues for enhancing regional security cooperation.
“In addition to attending the plenary sessions of the Aqaba meeting, President Tinubu will hold bilateral talks with other leaders to explore ways of addressing the rising security challenges across the subregion,” Onanuga stated.
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 (NIA), Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed; and other senior government officials.