Trump administration considers sweeping embassy closures worldwide
The Trump administration is considering closing 10 embassies and 17 consulates, CNN reports based on an internal State Department document. This includes diplomatic missions in Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, and France.
What do you need to know?
- The US administration is considering closing diplomatic missions in Europe, Africa, and Asia, including in Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and France.
- The exact date for closing the embassies and consulates has not yet been announced.
- American media report this based on an internal State Department document.
According to information also obtained by the "New York Times", the document does not specify the date of the closures. The newspaper emphasizes that this action is part of the Trump administration's plans to introduce significant changes in foreign diplomacy. The plans involve cuts in the State Department's budget by nearly 50 percent.
The most embassies that could be closed are located in Africa, including in the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gambia, Lesotho, the Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. The closure of diplomatic missions in Luxembourg, Grenada, Malta, and the Maldives has also been recommended.
Consulates in Europe and beyond
The plan also calls for the closure of consulates, mainly in Europe, in popular tourist locations. Among them are five consulates in France (Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes, and Strasbourg), two in Germany (Dusseldorf and Leipzig), and two in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mostar and Banja Luka).
Closures may also affect consulates in Thessaloniki in Greece, Florence in Italy, Ponta Delgada in Portugal, and Edinburgh in Scotland. Outside of Europe, the closure of four consular posts is being considered: in Douala in Cameroon, Medan in Indonesia, Durban in South Africa, and Busan in South Korea.
The document proposes that the responsibilities of closed embassies be assumed by missions in neighbouring countries. The "New York Times" reports that the authors of the memo also suggest reducing or eliminating the presence of the US embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia, and closing the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center in Iraq, while reducing diplomatic missions' costs in Baghdad and Erbil. They also propose consolidating posts into one location in countries with multiple consulates, including Japan and Canada.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to comment on the internal document and the drastic cut plans in the State Department.
