President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to depart Abuja on Sunday for Rome, Italy, where he will participate in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Level Meeting.
The high-level talks will center specifically on addressing the escalating security crisis across West Africa.
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The summit, set to commence on October 14, will convene African Heads of State, senior military and intelligence commanders, and representatives from global governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The agenda is focused on addressing the multifaceted security threats confronting West Africa.
The Aqaba Process, a counter-terrorism initiative first launched by King Abdullah II of Jordan in 2015, is currently co-chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian Government.
The meeting recognizes the complexity of threats in the region, including the spread of terrorist organisations, the growing connection between crime and terror, and the increasing overlap between land-based terrorism in the Sahel and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
Participants will engage in detailed security assessments of the current regional landscape.
The goal is to enhance cooperation among regional and international partners, ultimately developing unified strategies to counter both land and sea-based terror threats.
The discussions will also cover coordinated efforts to combat digital radicalisation and disrupt online networks used for propaganda and recruitment by terrorist groups.
Beyond the main plenary sessions, Tinubu is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with other world leaders to explore collaborative solutions to the subregion’s security challenges.
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The President’s delegation includes key officials such as 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.
