President Bola Tinubu will on Sunday, October 12, depart Abuja for Rome, Italy, to attend the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Meeting.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Saturday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

According to the statement, the summit, scheduled to begin on Monday, October 14, will focus on addressing the escalating security crisis in West Africa.

The Aqaba Process, launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan and co-chaired by Jordan and Italy, is a counter-terrorism initiative aimed at strengthening global cooperation against terrorism and violent extremism.

The 2025 session will examine the growing threats in the subregion, including the spread of terrorist networks, the crime-terror nexus, and the links between Sahel-based insurgencies and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

“At the meeting, participants will exchange assessments of the current security landscape in West Africa and foster collaboration between regional and international partners to address cross-border challenges,” the statement read.

It added that the conference will also explore strategies to counter terror threats on land and sea, combat online radicalisation, and disrupt digital networks that promote extremist propaganda and recruitment.

Aside from attending the plenary sessions, President Tinubu is expected to hold bilateral meetings with other world leaders to discuss practical steps towards tackling the region’s rising security threats.

The President will be accompanied 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; the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed; and other senior government officials.