According to a Reuters report today, the US State Department has notified Congress that it plans to close five foreign offices, including the St. George Embassy in Grenada, the Nagoya Consulate in Japan, the Medan Consulate in Indonesia, the branch office in Douala, Cameroon, and the Winnipeg Consulate in Canada. People familiar with the matter say these shutdown plans “have nothing to do with specific geopolitical events,” but are part of the Trump administration's agenda to reduce the diplomatic system and push for an “America First” agenda. The White House has previously advocated the closure of as many as 30 foreign agencies. US Secretary of State Rubio described the relevant cuts as necessary steps to streamline institutions and reduce costs. However, the Democratic Party and some former US foreign affairs and national security officials warned that reducing America's overseas diplomatic institutions, combined with the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development, could weaken America's global influence.

Disclaimer:Webull uses external vendor Google Translation Service for news translations where we endeavour to ensure these are correct, however, we recommend that you please double-check this information accordingly. Webull is not responsible for translation errors or issues.