United States of America’s President, Donald Trump is set to close down 10 embassies and 17 consulates across Africa, while simultaneously reducing or merging staff at various other diplomatic missions abroad.
The closures and employee-reduction plan was recently broken down in an internal State Department memo, and according to The New York Times, it would majorly affect America’s diplomatic footprint across several continents, with Africa set to be negatively affected the most.
Out of the 10 embassies set to be out of operation in the memo, 6 are in Africa, a continent already feeling the harsh effects of the Trump administration’s tariff policies, and they include the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gambia, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. The memo added that once closure is finalized, the affected duties will be immediately transferred to U.S. embassies in neighbouring nations.
The proposed cut is in accordance with Donald’s attempt to reduce federal spending across government agencies, however, Trump’s plan would still need sanctioning from the congress, which may or might not happen. It is common knowledge that there have been concerns about the constant reductions handing over a vital diplomatic edge to China, especially in regions where Washington presently has more control than Beijing.
Critics have mostly said that such controversial financial decisions would potentially expose America’s national security by restricting diplomatic engagement and preventing its intelligence-gathering abilities.
The memo didn’t target Africa alone as 2 embassies in European nations like Luxembourg, Malta, Grenada and Maldives were not spared as well, plus majority of the consulates set for a potential shutdown are based in Europe. In France, 5 consulates in Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes, and Strasbourg could be closed down, and Germany might no longer have consulates in Düsseldorf and Leipzig if approval is granted.
