Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel is attending the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Meeting in Uzbekistan, which began yesterday and concludes on Wednesday.
The trip coincides at a time when Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka had stopped all ministerial travel as a cost-cutting measure amid the fuel crisis.
Last month the Prime Minister had announced that he had approved overseas travel for Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Sashi Kiran.
No such announcement was made for the travel by Mr Immanuel.
It is not immediately clear whether the Uzbekistan trip is funded by taxpayers or covered by external partners.
The ministers overseas travel also comes after he was absent from Parliament throughout last week, with Speaker of Parliament Filimone Jitoko informing the House on Friday that the Minister was “indisposed.”
“Honourable Members, given that the honourable Minister for Finance, Commerce and Business Development is still indisposed, we wish him well… the following Oral Questions will be deferred to the sitting of Parliament on Monday, 25th May, 2026,” the Speaker said on Friday.
