The administration of the US President Donald Trump is proposing a radical reduction and restructuring of the State Department.
This is reported by Bloomberg and The New York Times.
The project envisages the elimination of dozens of positions and departments. Among other things, the Bureau of African Affairs, the Special Envoy for Climate, the Bureau of Global Womenʼs Issues, departments dealing with refugee issues, democracy, etc. may cease to operate. The Bureau of International Organizations, which maintains relations with the UN, is also under threat. The plan envisages a sharp reduction in diplomatic operations in Canada, the media write.
The State Department is to be divided into four regional bureaus covering the Indo-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Eurasia. A number of “non-essential” embassies and consulates in sub-Saharan Africa will also be closed, Bloomberg reports. The changes are to be implemented by October 1.
They also plan to create a new exam for entering the diplomatic service, which will require "conformity with the presidentʼs foreign policy vision".
It is unclear whether Donald Trump will sign the document in full. An anonymous senior official in Africa said the reforms to be announced are likely to be less radical.
If the changes are implemented, it would be one of the largest reorganizations of the State Department since its founding in 1789. According to sources, the 16-page document has already been distributed to diplomats around the world.
The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called The New York Timesʼ article about the reorganization "fake news" on social media X.
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