Foreign relations of Greenland
Being part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the foreign relations of Greenland are handled in cooperation with the Danish government and Government of Greenland.
Unlike Denmark, Greenland is no longer part of the European Union, the country changed its status to an OCT associated to the EU, a dependent territory that have a special relationship with a member state of the EU. However, Greenland remains a full member of the Council of Europe and NATO.
General aspects of diplomatic relations
With the Kingdom of Denmark having the responsibility for Greenland's international affairs, other countries often do not have direct diplomatic representation in Greenland—their embassies or consulates in Denmark are responsible for their relations with Greenland and their citizens in Greenland. Greenland is represented internationally by the embassies and consulates of Denmark, although Greenland does directly participate in some Nordic organisations like the West Nordic Council and the Overseas Countries and Territories Association that provide membership for dependent territories.
The United States reopened its consulate in Nuuk, closed in 1953, in June 2020.[1]
Consulates General
- Nuuk, Greenland
- Iceland (Consulate General)
- United States (Consulate General)[2]
Honorary Consuls
- Nuuk, Greenland
- Belgium (Honorary Consul)
- Canada (Honorary Consul)
- Czech Republic (Honorary Consul)
- Finland (Honorary Consul)
- France (Honorary Consul)
- Germany (Honorary Consul)
- South Korea (Honorary Consul)
- Luxembourg (Honorary Consul)
- Netherlands (Honorary Consul)
- Norway (Honorary Consul)
- Sweden (Honorary Consul)
- United Kingdom (Honorary Consul)
- Tasiilaq, Greenland
- Iceland (Honorary Consul)
- Qaqortoq, Greenland
- Latvia (Honorary Consul)
Diplomatic representations
Greenland has representative offices in several countries and otherwise is represented by Embassies of Denmark worldwide. The Self-Government Act of 2009 allows the island to open diplomatic offices for trade and other areas that it is responsible for.[3]
Current representations
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Copenhagen (Representative Office)
- Iceland
- United States
- Washington, D.C. (Representative Office)[6]
Planned representations
- China
- United States
- New York City (Representative Office)[3]
Disputes – international
- Qaanaaq (formerly Thule) is a sensitive area, due to the forced removal of the local population when establishing the base, handling of removal, compensation of the locals, later incidents aggravated the case.
- Uncontested dispute with Canada over Hans Island sovereignty in the Kennedy Channel between Canadian Ellesmere Island and Greenland.
See also
External links
- Official website of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Greenland – Naalakkersuisut
References
- "U.S. opens consulate in Greenland, months after Trump attempt to buy the territory rejected". National Post. The Telegraph. 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- Wingate, Sophie (11 June 2020). "US opens a consulate in Greenland, a year after a bid to buy". ArcticToday. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
- Kruse, Simon; Mouritzen, Kristian (2019-11-04). "Verdens største ø vil til New York: Grønland lufter nye planer om kontorer i Kina og USA". Berlingske (in Danish). Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- Kevin McGwin: Greenland names first representative to Iceland, arctictoday.com 28 August 2018.
- Kevin McGwin: Greenland’s first representative in Iceland is a man for all reasons, arctictoday.com 22 October 2018.
- Philip Stephens: Greenland building closer US relations, prime minister says, ft.com 6 March 2014.
- Greenland plans office in Beijing to boost trade ties with China', reuters.com 18 July 2018.