Closure of American Embassy in Maldives proposed

With US President Donald Trump's administration aiming to slash the State Department budget by nearly half, the closure of about 30 US missions, including the American Embassy in Maldives, has been proposed.

The cuts of nearly USD 30 billion in the 2026 fiscal year was proposed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the White House, Reuters reports.

The American Embassy in Maldives is currently run out of a rented space in a Hulhumale' building, but have been recently allocated land for offices as well.

Before the embassy in Maldives was established, the US Embassy in Sri Lanka oversaw Maldives related affairs as well. Later, the American Centre was set up, which conducted some of the work.

Other embassies proposed for closure include those in Eritrea, Grenada, Lesotho, Central African Republic, Luxembourg, Republic of the Congo, Gambia, South Sudan and Malta, Reuters cites documents they received as stating.

Most of the consulates proposed for closure are in Europe. Four missions proposed for closure are in Korea's Busan, South Africa's Durban, Indonesia's Medan and Cameroon's Douala.

There were also suggestions to reduce the work conducted at some other missions.

Reuters states while the department can apply for revisions, it is believed that the final version may be somewhat revised before presented to Congress for approval, according to an unnamed US official.

In order to cut expenditure, at least 27 US missions are proposed for closure, of which ten are embassies and the remaining, consulates.

It was also proposed to decrease foreign aid through US State Department and USAID to USD 16.9 billion from USD 38.3 billion. The OMB document also states that the USAID is to be shut down, with aid work to then be conducted by the State Department.