US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Washington ‘will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation’ - Photo: AAP

WASHINGTON, (Eye Radio) – The United States government is weighing at closing nearly 30 overseas embassies and consulates including in South Sudan, as it eyes significant changes to its diplomatic presence abroad, according to an internal State Department document.

The internal document also recommends reducing the footprint at the US diplomatic missions in Somalia and Iraq where the US is engaged in counterterrorism efforts, and resizing other diplomatic outposts.

Posts identified for closure include embassies in Malta, Luxembourg, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan, as well as consulates in France, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Kingdom, South Africa and South Korea.

The document, which outlines recommendations by its undersecretary for management, recommends closing 10 embassies and 17 consulates mainly in Europe and Africa, as well as the Caribbean and Asia.

The document proposes that the closed embassies’ duties be covered by outposts in neighboring countries. It is not yet known whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio has approved the proposals.

When contacted by CNN, State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce told the news network: “I would suggest that you check with the White House and the President of the US as they continue to work on their budget plan and what they submit to congress.”

The Trump administration is also eliminating more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAI)’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world, according to a separate memo cited by the Associated Press.

On January 20, Trump ordered a 90-day program-by-program review of which foreign assistance programs deserved to continue and which must be eliminated. The funding freeze has stopped thousands of U.S.-funded programs abroad.