US opens new consulate in Nuuk amid tense relations and planned protest

The United States inaugurated its new consulate in Nuuk on Thursday, a 3,000-square-metre, three-storey facility in the centre of the Greenlandic capital, Danish broadcaster DR reported.

The previous consulate, used since 2020, was a small red house on the harbour lent by the Arctic Command. The move to larger premises comes as relations between Greenland and the United States are strained, DR said.

Some residents voiced unease. “Why would you need 3,000 square metres in Nuuk?” asked Malik Gert Fredriksen Dollerup-Scheibe. “Why build such a big consulate unless you plan to have some form of very large future influence?”

A protest has been registered outside the new consulate for later on Thursday. Organisers plan to carry banners and stand with their backs to the building for two minutes, DR reported. Student Parnûna, who intends to join, said: “I don’t think we need the US here in Greenland right now.”

Greenland’s premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, declined to attend the opening despite being invited, DR said. The recent visit by US special envoy Jeff Landry had not improved the atmosphere.

US Ambassador to Denmark Ken Howery said on his way to meetings in Nuuk that he was “very excited” to open the expanded consulate and offer more services to Greenlanders and Americans. He did not comment on the planned protest, according to DR.