President Bola Tinubu is set to return to Abuja on Saturday following his participation in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government-level Meeting held in Rome, Italy.
The Aqaba Process is a counter-terrorism initiative that was initiated by His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan in 2015. It is co-chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Government of Italy.
The focus of the Rome edition was on enhancing regional and international cooperation in combating terrorism and violent extremism, with a specific emphasis on West Africa.
The high-level meeting took place on Wednesday, October 15, at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome. Numerous heads of State and Government were present, including King Abdullah II of Jordan, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the Presidents of Nigeria, Chad, Paraguay, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Also in attendance were Azouz Nasri, President of Algeria’s Upper House, delegations from Côte d’Ivoire, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Senegal, and Uzbekistan, as well as special envoys and security experts.
A statement from Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), indicated that on the sidelines of the event, President Tinubu engaged in bilateral discussions with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Massad Boulos, Senior Adviser on Arab and African Affairs to U.S. President Donald Trump.
Additionally, President Tinubu met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, to address issues of religious harmony in Nigeria.
The discussions included the prevalent disinformation campaigns that inaccurately depict the nation as intolerant of religious diversity.
Since its inception in 2015, the Aqaba Process has held 33 meetings at various levels, ranging from Heads of State summits to technical expert sessions.
The initiative is founded on three fundamental pillars: prevention, coordination, and addressing operational gaps in counterterrorism efforts.
