The government on Monday appointed Dinesh Bhattarai as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's foreign affairs advisor, Finance Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki informed.

A Cabinet meeting held this morning made the appointment at a time when the Deuba-led government was struggling to expand the Cabinet.

Bhattarai, a former Nepali Ambassador to Switzerland, had also served as the foreign affairs advisor to former Prime Minister Sushil Koirala.

This is the first appointment of prime ministerial staff by Deuba-led government.