Tinubu Heads to Rome for Aqaba Process Security Summit
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will on Sunday, October 12, depart Abuja for Rome, Italy, to attend the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Meeting, which will focus on tackling the escalating security crisis in West Africa.
The summit, scheduled to begin on October 14, will bring together Heads of State and Government, senior intelligence and military officials from across Africa, as well as representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the meeting will address emerging security threats in the region — including the expansion of terrorist networks, the growing link between crime and terrorism, and the overlap between insurgency in the Sahel and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
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The Aqaba Process, launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, is a global counter-terrorism initiative co-chaired by Jordan and the Italian government. It seeks to enhance cooperation among regional and international partners in responding to cross-border security challenges.
Discussions at the Rome meeting are expected to focus on strengthening regional collaboration, developing strategies to counter terrorism on land and sea, and curbing online radicalisation by disrupting digital networks used for extremist propaganda and recruitment.
President Tinubu is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with other world leaders on the sidelines of the summit to explore partnerships and shared strategies for addressing insecurity across West Africa.
Those accompanying the President include 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 government officials.
The Aqaba Process has in recent years become a key platform for global and regional leaders to coordinate responses to terrorism and violent extremism, particularly in regions facing overlapping security challenges.
By PRNigeria
