October 12, (THEWILL) — President Bola Tinubu on Sunday departed Abuja for Rome, Italy, to attend the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government-Level Meeting — a high-level counterterrorism forum jointly hosted by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian government.
The Aqaba Process, launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, focuses on strengthening international cooperation to tackle terrorism, violent extremism, and transnational crime.
This year’s meeting will address the growing security threats facing West Africa, including the expansion of terrorist networks, the crime-terror nexus, and the overlap between Sahel-based insurgencies and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the meeting — scheduled to begin on Monday, October 14 — will bring together Heads of State, senior intelligence and defence officials, as well as representatives of international organisations, to deliberate on emerging security challenges in the subregion.
Onanuga, “The participants will exchange assessments of the current security landscape in West Africa and develop strategies to counter terror threats on land and at sea.
“The meeting will also explore ways to curb online radicalisation and disrupt digital networks that facilitate terrorist propaganda and recruitment.”
Tinubu is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with other world leaders on the sidelines of the event to strengthen partnerships and coordinate responses to regional and global security challenges.
He was accompanied on the trip by 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, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed, among other senior government officials.
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