Answering questions from the media in Pretoria on Monday, Lamola said officials were attending a UN anti-corruption conference this week.
He said that “bilateral engagements” will be held on the sidelines to expedite the signing of an extradition treaty relating to the Gupta family.
“Indeed, later this evening [Monday] we will be going to the UAE attending a UN conference on anti-corruption. It is not uncommon that when we attend these kinds of events, you will have bilateral engagements with our counterparts.
“There is already an advanced team from the department and from the NPA who are already in the UAE.
“It's not like we are going to Dubai with a suitcase to fetch the Guptas. It is done through the law. What we are going to engage with them on is the issue that there has been an extradition treaty that we have already signed, and it has not yet been ratified in the UAE,” he said.