Mette Frederiksen’s visit comes shortly after a trip to the territory of the Arctic by Vice President J.D. Vance, who accused Copenhagen of failing the Greenlanders.
The Danish Prime Minister traveled to Greenland on Wednesday and launched a three-day trip aimed at building trust among local officials in a recurring statement that Washington is seeking control of the vast Arctic territory.
Mette Frederiksen announced the visit shortly after US Vice President JD Vance visited a US air base last week at a semi-automatic locality in the Kingdom of Scandinavia, accusing Copenhagen of being the short-changed Greenlanders.
Greenland is a huge, mineral-rich, strategically important island that President Donald Trump has said is important to US security.
It is part of the North American continent, but an area about three times larger than Texas belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark.
Fredericksen will meet up with incoming Greenland leader Jens Frederick Nielsen after the election that returned the new coalition government last month.
She will also visit to continue until Friday to meet with the next Naarakkarzat, the cabinet of Greenlandicks.
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“I have the most profound respect for how Greenlanders and Greenland politicians deal with the great pressure on Greenland.”
Nielsen welcomed Fredericksen’s visit and said on Monday that Denmark remains “Greenland’s closest partner.”
The agenda will have discussions with Nielsen about Nuuk and Copenhagen’s future cooperation.
For years, Greenlanders, with a population of around 57,000, have been working towards their ultimate independence from Denmark, with many Greenlanders feeling historically abused under Danish rule.
However, the Trump administration’s indication of annexing the island implies that it will not rule out military measures to do so, making many Greenlanders and Danes alike.
The new government hopes to slow the pace of ultimate independence, and Nielsen told Reuters on Monday that it will strengthen relations with Copenhagen until Greenland can realize its ultimate desire to become a sovereign nation.
Meanwhile, he said Greenland wants to establish a respectful relationship with the United States.
“We don’t respectfully talk about annexation and not respecting Greenland’s acquisition and sovereignty. So let’s start by paying respect to each other and building a great partnership on everything,” he said.
Greenland’s political groups are most sympathetic to Trump’s goals for the region. The Narerak Party advocates for a quick path to independence.
They were excluded from the coalition consultation and formed the next government.
Peter Viggo Jacobsen, an associate professor at the Danish Academy of Defense, told The Associated Press last week that Trump’s administration’s desire for Greenland could backfire and push forward more moderate parties on the territory near Copenhagen.
“Trump is scared away from this idea of close ties with the US because he doesn’t trust most of the Greenlanders,” Jacobsen said.
Fredericksen said it is up to the people of Greenland to decide what his future is.
Opinion polls show that the majority of Greenlanders support independence from Denmark, but many warn that they will seek self-determination for fear that Greenland may be afraid of worsening.
Furthermore, the majority are opposed to joining the US.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to the report.
