Prime Minister Sushila Karki is set to brief representatives of Kathmandu-based foreign diplomatic missions and development partners on the preparations for the March 5 elections and other priorities of the government, on Friday.

Prime Minister Karki, who is also overseeing the foreign affairs portfolio, will brief the diplomats at the foreign ministry, not at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Although she has met several Kathmandu-based ambassadors and diplomats separately over the last one month after being appointed as prime minister of the interim government on September 12, this will be her first joint briefing on the government’s priorities and its plans for the future.

The briefing has been scheduled for 2 pm.

“The prime minister is going to brief representatives of Kathmandu-based diplomatic missions and development partners on Friday,” Ajaya Bhadra Khanal, chief advisor to the prime minister, told the Post. “She will inform them about the government’s priorities including ongoing preparations for the upcoming elections, among other things.”

Around 30 representatives including ambassadors, diplomats, and heads of development partner agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, among others, are expected to attend the briefing.

Karki will also inform the diplomats and heads of development agencies about the government's ongoing efforts to restore law and order, ensure good governance, make reforms in various sectors, and control corruption. She will seek their support and goodwill for holding the parliamentary elections on March 5, said foreign ministry officials.

It has been a tradition for the government to brief representatives of the international community based in Kathmandu about its domestic and foreign policy priorities following major political changes.

Prime Minister Karki will also reiterate the government’s commitment to democratic values, inclusion, rule of law, and other fundamental principles that Nepal has committed to uphold in various international platforms.

“We had planned to hold the briefing last week, but it is now taking place on Friday due to the busy schedule of the prime minister,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Paudel Kshetri said.

During the briefing, there will be no question-answer session, a foreign ministry official said.