The Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark together with the Government of Greenland and the Government of the United States of America, amending and supplementing the 1951 Agreement on the Defence of Greenland, was signed in New York on 22 September 2026 by Mette Frederiksen, Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Donald Trump. The Danish, Greenlandic and English texts, in triplicate; in case of conflict, English prevails. It is not the 1951 Defence Agreement signed in Copenhagen, nor the 2004 Igaliku Agreement, which it amends. The preamble reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and recognises the People of Greenland as a people with the right of self-determination, following the procedure in Article 21 of the 2009 Self-Government Act.

Article I: the object is to facilitate the measures needed to carry out the Parties’ responsibilities in Greenland, including defence of the North Atlantic Treaty area, Greenland and the American continent, while respecting the interests of Greenlandic society. Article II supports a stronger NATO engagement in the Arctic, as to planning, presence, exercises and joint intelligence gathering, as a principle, without an operations programme. Article III defines, among other terms, the 1951 Agreement, the 1991 Memorandum, the Igaliku Agreement, the 2020 diplomatic notes, a “Defense Area” and the Permanent Committee.

Article IV: the United States may modernise and expand activities at Pituffik Space Base and may establish an additional Defence Area at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, with modalities to be agreed later. Either Party may propose a new area; consultations go through the Permanent Committee and, if needed, to deputy-minister and minister level. Commercial contracts for establishment, maintenance and servicing are to be awarded, to the maximum extent possible, to Greenlandic sources, with the 2020 notes to be updated. Article V: requests for unmanned military installations outside Defence Areas are reviewed under accelerated governmental approval procedures, still as a framework, without a siting guide.

Article VI recognises access and movement for United States public vessels, aircraft, armed forces and vehicles to and between Defence Areas through Greenland, including the Territorial Waters, as well as overflight and undersea access, with such restrictions as the Parties mutually agree; the rights are to be exercised so as to respect Greenlandic society, including hunting and fishing, to the maximum extent possible. Implementation is discussed regularly in the Permanent Committee. The article is not a base itinerary or a navigation regulation.

Article VII: territory in the vicinity of a Defence Area shall not be used in a manner that threatens its security; the Parties co-operate, including against espionage, at the level of contact between authorities, without a counter-intelligence protocol. Article VIII: Denmark has strengthened and shall continue to strengthen its Arctic security posture on land, at sea, in the air and in space, in co-operation with Allies. Article IX: a State that is not a NATO member shall not establish its own manned or unmanned military installations in Greenland, nor a persistent military presence, unless the Parties agree otherwise. Article X: investors from States that are not NATO members, NATO partners or EU members shall not have control, significant influence or access to non-public information that may threaten national security or public order in particularly sensitive sectors in Greenland, unless the Parties agree there is no such threat; the modalities remain with the screening authorities, not a handbook.

Article XI: the Agreement has no end date and may be amended only by mutual consent under Article XIII of the 1951 instrument. If Greenland exercises self-determination to become independent, Denmark and Greenland shall together ensure that the independent State remains in NATO and assumes the rights and obligations. Article XII: entry into force on the date of a diplomatic note to the United States after the necessary parliamentary procedures in Denmark and Greenland — the Folketing and Inatsisartut. The preamble notes a shared interest in United States military access, including through establishment of a Golden Dome defence system, without specifying weapons.

The text consulted is the official Statsministeriet English PDF. The instrument is an amendment of the 1951 framework, not a treaty of cession.

Cover: United Nations Headquarters in New York, the place of signature; we do not claim the hall. Wikimedia Commons, free licence.

Sources consulted: 2026 US–Denmark–Greenland agreement; Agreement between the Kingdom of Denmark together with Greenland and the United States of America (Statsministeriet).