By Abiola Olawale
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has embarked on a diplomatic mission to Rome, Italy, to attend an international counter-terrorism summit.
It was gathered that the summit is aimed at addressing the growing threat of global terrorism.
The New Diplomat reports that the summit, hosted by the Italian government, brings together heads of state, security experts, and policymakers to strategize on innovative approaches to counter-terrorism, intelligence sharing, and curbing extremist ideologies.
Disclosing this in a statement, presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said the Aqaba Process meeting is a counter-terrorism initiative launched by King Abdullah II of Jordan in 2015.
It is co–chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian government, which focuses on the security crisis in West Africa.
“The meeting, which will begin on October 14, will bring together heads of state and government, senior intelligence and military officials from African countries, and representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations to discuss the evolving security challenges in West Africa,” Onanuga stated.
“It recognises the complex security challenges confronting West Africa, including the expansion of terrorist networks, the growing crime-terror nexus and the increasing overlap between land-based terrorism in the Sahel and the maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.”
Accompanying the President are the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu; Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru; National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mohammed Mohammed; and other government officials.
