President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has arrived in Rome, Italy, ahead of the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government meeting, which will focus on tackling the growing security crisis in West Africa.
The Presidential aircraft touched down at the Rome Fiumicino International Airport at about 7:20 p.m local time on Sunday, where the president was received by senior Italian officials, members of the Nigerian diplomatic corps, and top aides.
The high-level meeting, which opens on Tuesday, will bring together Heads of State and Government, senior intelligence and military officials from African countries, as well as representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations.
Participants are expected to deliberate on the evolving security landscape in West Africa and develop coordinated responses to terrorism and transnational crime.
Launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, the Aqaba Process is a global counter-terrorism initiative aimed at enhancing cooperation and intelligence sharing among nations confronting violent extremism.
The current edition, co-chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian Government, will focus on the complex security threats facing the region, including the expansion of terrorist networks, the growing nexus between crime and terrorism, and the overlap between land-based insurgency in the Sahel and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
According to an earlier statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu will not only participate in the plenary sessions but will also hold bilateral meetings with other world leaders to explore collaborative measures to curb insecurity across the subregion.
The sessions are expected to examine strategies to counter terrorism, combat online radicalisation, and disrupt digital networks used to promote extremist propaganda and recruitment.