Canada and France on the 6th (local time) opened diplomatic missions side by side in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
According to the AP, Canada Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand left the country to attend the opening ceremony of the Canadian consulate in Nuuk, Greenland's capital, on this day. Canada Governor General Mary Simon, who presides over key state events on behalf of King Charles III, will also attend the ceremony.
Canada has been pushing to establish a consulate since 2024, before U.S. President Donald Trump's remark about "annexing Greenland," to address Arctic security and climate change. The opening ceremony was originally planned for Nov. last year, but it was postponed to this day due to worsening weather.
Sharing Greenland and Inuit Indigenous cultures, Canada is also a country facing Trump's threat of annexation. Trump said he would incorporate Canada as "the 51st state of the United States."
Minister Anand held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Lokke Rasmussen in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the 5th and discussed ways to cooperate in the Arctic region. Anand said on social media, "As Arctic nations, Canada and Denmark are working together to strengthen stability, security, and cooperation in the Arctic region."
France also opened a consulate general in Greenland, the first among European Union (EU) member states, and appointed Jean-Noël Poirier as the first consul general. Consul General Poirier previously served as director-general for Northeast Asia at the foreign ministry and as ambassador to Vietnam, and received official appointment from President Emmanuel Macron on the 3rd of this month.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France said Consul General Poirier's main duties are to strengthen cooperation with Greenland in culture, science, and the economy and to deepen political ties.
Although only six French citizens live in Nuuk, the opening of the consulate general is seen as a move to show solidarity with Greenland and Denmark against the United States and to emphasize that Greenland is part of Europe. Earlier, President Macron visited Nuuk in Jun. last year and pledged to open a consulate general.
Greenland established diplomatic relations with the EU in 1992, and in 2024 the European Commission also set up a local mission. Nearby Iceland opened a consulate in Nuuk in 2013.
The United States operated a consulate in Nuuk from 1940 to 1953 before closing it. Later, during Trump's first term in 2019, he expressed interest in purchasing Greenland, and in 2020 the United States reopened its consulate.
Ulrik Pram Gad, an Arctic expert at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), said of the two countries' opening of consulates, "It is a way to tell Trump that the aggressive moves toward Greenland and Denmark are not an issue solely for Greenland and Denmark, but also involve the European alliance and Canada, which is an ally and friend of Greenland and Europe."