MBABANE: Canada and France will open diplomatic consulates in Greenland in a strong show of support for NATO ally Denmark and in the wake of US efforts to secure control of the Arctic island, Aljazeera reported.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand travelled to Nuuk on Friday to open the consulate, which officials say could enhance cooperation on climate change and Inuit rights.
She was accompanied by Canada’s Indigenous Governor General, Mary Simon.
“France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said Jean-Noel Poirier also would take up his duties as consul general, making it the first European Union country to establish a Consulate General in Greenland,” reads the Aljazeera report in part.
But Poirier will be “tasked with working to deepen existing cooperation projects with Greenland in the cultural, scientific, and economic fields, while also strengthening political ties with the local authorities,” the Ministry said.
Coloured houses covered by snow are seen from the sea in Nuuk, Greenland, [File: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo]