Greenland’s prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and foreign minister Múte B. Egede returned to Nuuk on Wednesday from New York, where a trilateral defense agreement with Denmark and the United States was signed. Around 500 people welcomed them at a kaffemik in the Katuaq cultural center.
According to reporting by DR, the two politicians spoke to the crowd at Katuaq after landing in the Greenlandic capital. Many of those present wanted handshakes and photographs with the returning delegation.
Nielsen described the moment as one that meant a great deal to him. He said the relief among the people at the event confirmed that the government had done the right thing for the country. He added that many in Greenland had feared being taken over by another country.
The agreement itself was signed in New York on September 22 by US President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Nielsen, Reuters reported. Per Reuters, the deal allows a larger US military presence in Greenland and is intended to end the standoff over the island.
Speaking in Nuuk, Egede said the western alliance countries need each other in order to be strong. He said that is not the case when they are at odds, and that all the countries involved had wanted the deal.
Nielsen points to two tumultuous years
Nielsen told the gathering that the period leading up to the negotiations had been turbulent. He said it would be untrue to claim that the outlook had not looked bleak over the past two years.
He described the result as a good agreement for Greenland, Denmark, the United States, NATO and Europe. According to Nielsen, it is a good deal in a world that is changing and becoming increasingly uncertain.
Egede was asked whether the agreement could move Greenland further away from independence. He rejected that, saying the world’s most powerful state had signed a document recognizing Greenlanders as a people under international law with the right to self-determination.
Per Egede, the fact that 56,000 people are an equal party to such an agreement is a significant step. He said Greenland should now move away from skepticism and toward a period of making each other stronger.
Egede also said the difficult time was over, and that Greenland can now shape its own future peacefully together with its closest friends. The signing follows years of debate over the island’s relationship with Copenhagen and Washington, including questions about Greenland’s autonomy from Denmark.
Reuters reported that Greenlanders expressed relief after the agreement was signed. The terms of the trilateral deal have not been published in full.
