President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has returned to Abuja after participating in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government-Level Meeting held in Rome, Italy.
In a statement released by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, the meeting focused on strengthening international collaboration against terrorism and violent extremism, with a particular emphasis on West Africa.
The Aqaba Process, launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, is a global counter-terrorism initiative co-chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Government of Italy. The Rome edition of the summit took place on Wednesday, October 15, at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art.
According to the statement, the high-level gathering was attended by King Abdullah II, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the Presidents of Nigeria, Chad, Paraguay, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Other dignitaries included Azouz Nasri, President of Algeria’s Upper House, as well as delegations from Côte d’Ivoire, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Senegal, and Uzbekistan. Security experts and special envoys also participated in the closed-door session.
On the sidelines of the event, President Tinubu held bilateral meetings with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Massad Boulos, Senior Adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump on Arab and African Affairs. He also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, to discuss religious harmony and interfaith cooperation in Nigeria.
Onanuga noted that the discussion with the Vatican centered on countering disinformation campaigns that falsely portray Nigeria as intolerant of religious diversity.
Since its inception, the Aqaba Process has convened 33 meetings across various levels — from technical expert sessions to heads-of-state summits — built on three key pillars: prevention, coordination, and closing operational gaps in global counterterrorism efforts.
