Greenland’s strategic importance to the United States and its NATO allies has taken centre stage after President Donald Trump signed a new defence agreement with Denmark and Greenland that expands Washington’s military role in the Arctic territory without changing its sovereignty.
Trump signed the agreement on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, in New York alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The deal provides a framework for increased American defence activity in Greenland and the wider North Atlantic, including the expansion of existing military infrastructure and the construction of new defence facilities.
It also comes after months of strained relations between Washington and Copenhagen following Trump’s repeated calls for greater US control of Greenland and his earlier push for the United States to acquire the territory.
Trump had revealed the agreement several days before the signing, saying it would give the United States a permanent role in Greenland’s security.
At the signing ceremony, Trump welcomed the deal and highlighted what he said would be its benefits to the three parties.
“This is tremendous for Europe and for the United States and for everybody,” Trump said. “And for Greenland, it’s going to be incredible.”
US military presence to grow
The agreement will allow the United States to increase its defence activities in Greenland, a territory whose position between North America and Europe has made it important to Arctic and North Atlantic security.
Among the measures contained in the pact are upgrades to the existing Pituffik Space Base and the establishment of new defence facilities in Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig.
The agreement further bars countries that are not members of NATO from setting up military facilities in Greenland. It also contains provisions relating to sensitive foreign investment in the territory.
Trump said in his United Nations address that Washington would “immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence” in Greenland, including plans for “two very major military bases.”
The existing US military infrastructure in Greenland plays a role in missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance, while the territory’s geographical position provides access to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches.
The pact also reflects the growing security focus on the Arctic and the strategic competition surrounding the region.
For Washington, the arrangement provides an avenue to increase its military presence and defence responsibilities in Greenland without taking ownership of the territory.
Denmark retains sovereignty
Although the agreement gives Washington a wider security role, Greenland remains a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
The pact does not transfer sovereignty to the United States. Danish and Greenlandic officials have instead stressed that the agreement respects the Kingdom’s territorial integrity and Greenlanders’ right to determine their own future.
Ahead of the signing, the Danish government said the arrangement would strengthen shared security while recognising “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.”
Nielsen said the agreement also acknowledges Greenland’s interests and its place in international cooperation.
“It is encouraging that we are about to make an agreement that will ensure and strengthen the security of Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, the United States, and the Western Alliance,” Nielsen said in a statement released by the Danish government.
Frederiksen described the agreement as a way of improving joint security in the Arctic and North Atlantic while safeguarding Greenland’s political position.
The Danish government said the agreement will still have to undergo the required national parliamentary procedures before it becomes fully effective.
The signing therefore marks a new stage in security cooperation rather than a change in Greenland’s status.
It gives Washington greater access and defence responsibilities in the territory while leaving the existing sovereignty arrangements intact.
For Trump, the agreement offers a negotiated framework for achieving a stronger US security role in Greenland after months of calls for greater American control.
For Denmark and Greenland, it provides for closer cooperation with Washington while maintaining the Kingdom’s territorial integrity and Greenlanders’ right to decide their future.
The pact consequently places Greenland at the heart of a broader Arctic security arrangement involving the United States, Denmark, Greenland and NATO allies.