US may close dozens of embassies and consulates around the world

Tengrinews.kz – The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is considering plans to close 10 embassies and 17 consulates, as well as to reduce or consolidate staff at several other overseas diplomatic missions.

This information comes from an internal State Department memo reviewed by The New York Times.

According to the newspaper, the proposed measures would significantly reduce America’s diplomatic presence on almost every continent. These changes are part of an expansion of earlier Trump administration plans that included closing dozens of diplomatic missions and laying off local staff working in those countries.

“The cuts align with President Trump’s goal of reducing federal spending across the government, as well as the State Department leadership’s plan to cut the department’s budget by nearly 50 percent,” the article states.

However, the new proposals have raised concerns that the U.S. might cede strategically important diplomatic ground to China — particularly in regions where American presence currently exceeds that of China. This could negatively affect U.S. national security, including its intelligence-gathering capabilities, the newspaper notes.

Six embassies under consideration for closure are located in Africa: in the Central African Republic, Eritrea, The Gambia, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. Their diplomatic functions would be transferred to embassies in neighboring countries.

There are also plans to shut down two small embassies in Europe — in Luxembourg and Malta — as well as missions in Grenada and the Maldives, with their functions being transferred to nearby nations.

Most of the consulates slated for closure are located in Europe, including popular tourist destinations for Americans. The list includes five consulates in France (Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes, and Strasbourg), two in Germany (Düsseldorf and Leipzig), and two more in Mostar and Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Additionally, closures are being considered for consulates in Thessaloniki (Greece), Florence (Italy), Ponta Delgada (Portugal), and Edinburgh (Scotland). Outside Europe, four consulates are at risk: in Douala (Cameroon), Medan (Indonesia), Durban (South Africa), and Busan (South Korea).

The memo also recommends significantly reducing or fully closing the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu (Somalia), shutting down the Diplomatic Support Center in Baghdad (Iraq), and cutting costs at U.S. missions in Baghdad and Erbil. Furthermore, it proposes centralizing consular functions in a single location in countries with multiple diplomatic posts, such as Japan and Canada.

If implemented, these measures would mean the U.S. would lose its numerical edge over China in terms of diplomatic missions in Europe, where American representation currently surpasses that of China, according to data from the Lowy Institute (Sydney). The U.S. would also fall further behind China in Africa and East Asia, where Beijing already has more diplomatic missions than Washington.