COPENHAGEN/WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greenland has said it is “not for sale” following reports that US President Donald Trump has spoken about buying the world’s biggest island.
The president is said to have discussed the idea of purchasing Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, during dinners and meetings with advisers.
But Greenland’s foreign ministry dismissed the idea, saying: “We’re open for business, not for sale.”
“Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism. We’re open for business, not for sale,” it said in a statement shared on social media.
Greenland MP Aaja Chemnitz Larsen also dismissed the president’s reported interest.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which first reported the news, said Trump had spoken about the purchase with “varying degrees of seriousness”.
The White House has not commented on the reports.
Greenland Premier Kim Kielsen has not commented publicly on the reports.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who took office earlier this year, has not commented on the reports.
She is set to visit Greenland this month and has said she is “very much looking forward” to it.
Trump has reportedly taken an interest in Greenland, in part, because of its natural resources, such as coal, zinc, copper and iron ore.
But while Greenland might be rich in minerals, it currently relies on Denmark for two thirds of its budget revenue. It has high rates of suicide, alcoholism and unemployment.
Trump is scheduled to visit Denmark in September but there is no indication that the possible acquisition of Greenland is on the agenda.
Greenland is the largest island in the world (after Australia, which is defined as a continent in its own right). It is an autonomous Danish territory, located between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
It has a population of about 56,000 people concentrated around the coastline. Almost 90% are indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people. It has a limited self-government and its own parliament.
More than 80% of the island is covered by an ice cap. Global warming is feared to be causing the ice cover to melt increasingly quickly but has also increased access to its mineral resources. — NNN-AGENCIES
