President Bola Tinubu will return to Abuja on Saturday after concluding his participation at a high-level heads of state meeting for the Aqaba Process, a major international counter-terism initiative, held in Rome, Italy.
The announcement was made in a press release dated October 18, 2025, issued by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy.
The Rome edition of the Aqaba Process, co-chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Government of Italy, was focused on strengthening regional and international collaboration against terrorism and violent extremism, with particular attention given to the evolving security challenges in West Africa.
The closed-door meeting, held at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art on Wednesday, October 15, brought together a gathering of global leaders.
President Tinubu joined other heads of state, including King Abdullah II of Jordan, who launched the initiative in 2015, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the Presidents of Chad, Paraguay, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The summit also featured delegations from several other nations, including Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.
On the sidelines of the main event, President Tinubu engaged in a series of critical bilateral meetings. He met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to discuss matters of mutual interest. Further strengthening diplomatic ties, the President also held talks with Massad Boulos, Senior Adviser on Arab and African Affairs to former U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a significant engagement, President Tinubu met with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Their discussion centered on promoting religious harmony within Nigeria. The meeting specifically addressed widespread disinformation campaigns that inaccurately portray Nigeria as a country intolerant of religious diversity, with both leaders emphasizing the need for factual representation.
The Aqaba Process is a well-established counter-terrorism platform that has convened 33 meetings at various levels since its inception. It is built on three core pillars: prevention, coordination, and closing operational gaps in global counter-terrorism efforts.
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