President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja on Sunday for Rome, Italy, to participate in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Level Meeting, with a special focus on the security crisis in West Africa.

Scheduled to begin on October 14, the meeting will bring together African Heads of State and Government, senior intelligence and military officials, as well as representatives from intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to address evolving security challenges in the region.

Launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, the Aqaba Process is a counter-terrorism initiative co-chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian Government. The initiative recognises the complex security threats in West Africa, including the expansion of terrorist networks, the growing nexus between crime and terrorism, and the overlap between land-based terrorism in the Sahel and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, participants will share assessments of the current security landscape and foster collaboration between regional and international partners to address cross-border threats. Strategies to counter terror both on land and at sea, combat online radicalization, and disrupt digital networks used for terrorist propaganda and recruitment will also be discussed.

In addition to attending plenary sessions, President Tinubu will hold bilateral talks with other leaders to explore solutions to the rising security challenges across West Africa.

He 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.