MBABANE:Eswatini Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini met a delegation from the Indonesian Embassy based in Pretoria-South Africa at the Cabinet Offices-Mbabane on Friday afternoon.
Worth-noting, SwaziPharm Director and corruption ‘suspect’ Kareem Ashraff who has been known as the Indonesian Consulate for years was once again, not part of the meeting.
Ashraff who stands accused of looting billions of public funds within the Ministry of Health, resulting to the shortage of drugs in public hospitals and the death of dozens of emaSwati, was not present even when King Mswati welcomed the new Indonesian Ambassador to eSwatini Saud Purwanto Krisnawan recently.
The Indonesian Embassy in South Africa is also accredited to the Kingdom of eSwatini and, the delegation that met the eSwatini Prime Minister was led by Arief Ilham Ramadhan, First Secretary for Economic Affairs, accompanied by Tonny Hendriawan, Director of the Indonesia Trade Promotion Center in Johannesburg, along with other officials from the Embassy.
The discussion was centred around updates on existing bilateral cooperation between the Kingdom of Eswatini and Indonesia, as well as exploring potential areas for future collaboration.
Government online platforms reported that, key issues on the agenda included the implementation of the Visa Exemption Agreement for Holders of Diplomatic and Service Passports, signed during the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum held last September in Bali, Indonesia.
“Opportunities for partnerships in key sectors such as fertiliser production, security document printing, mining, and railway construction were also discussed”, reads the Government online report.
On another note, King Mswati’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane told this Swaziland News that, Kareem Ashraff diplomatic status must be clarified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ashraff has been allegedly abusing his diplomatic status to engage in corruption in eSwatini he “is also alleged to be smuggling dangerous drugs” and has been avoiding to clarify corruption allegations when approached by this Swaziland News saying, he was busy with court cases.
WHERE IS ‘CONSULAR’ KAREEM ASHRAFF?:Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini meets delegation from Indonesian Embassy Embassy-Pretoria, possible partnership in economic development discussed.