By Jill McLaughlin

Greenland lawmakers unanimously approved a security agreement Nov. 3 with the United States and Denmark that will boost American military presence on the self-governing Arctic island while keeping it under Danish control.

The United States and Denmark signed the deal with Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Sept. 22 after months of pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who repeatedly pushed to acquire the country for strategic and national security purposes.

The trilateral deal paves the way for two new American military bases at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig and expansion of its activities at the Pituffik Space Base.

On Tuesday, the House of Inatsisartut—Greenland’s parliament—voted 16–0 to ratify the security agreement. It must still be approved by Denmark’s parliament, which is scheduled to vote on the deal on Nov. 19.

Nielsen said the decision meant a lot to him and to the people of Greenland after months of outside pressure.

“Today we have made an important decision for Greenland,” Nielsen said in a social media statement. “There have been many opinions about Greenland and our future. But in the middle of it all, one thing has become clear to me. It is not others who should decide which path Greenland should take. It must be us.”

“With your strong unity, you have shown that it is us who live here in the country who should decide Greenland’s future.”

The pact allows Greenland to cooperate with other countries but also respects the people, the land, and their rights, Nielsen said.

Trump had pushed for the military base expansion on Greenland in his second term. He celebrated Greenland’s approval of the deal Tuesday.

“They just gave the United States the greatest gift we were ever given,” Trump told Fox News by phone Tuesday morning. “Greenland. We just got Greenland.”

(L-R) U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, and Prime Minister of Greenland Jens-Frederik Nielsen hold up the proclamations during the signing of a security pact between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 22, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Once ratified by Denmark, the agreement is permanent and allows the United States to establish two more defense areas immediately. One area at Narsaruaq is a former Cold War-era air base in southern Greenland, and the second is at Mestersvig, a current military outpost on the island’s east coast used by Danish special forces.

The deal also allows the U.S. to modernize and expand activities at Pituffik and mentions establishing a Golden Dome missile defense system.

The agreement also strengthens a defense agreement signed in 1951, established under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), between the countries for free movement between defense areas by granting unrestricted undersea access within Greenlandic territorial waters, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

A view of Nuuk, Greenland, Jan. 13, 2026. Marko Djurica/Reuters

“At a minimum, the deal serves as an important signal of U.S. interest in carving out a greater role for Greenland in homeland defense,” CSIS stated in the Sept. 30 analysis.

The agreement also limits future foreign investment by other countries and bars non-NATO states from establishing military installations on the island without the consent of the United States, Denmark, and Greenland.

Danish Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus told Reuters in September that NATO would likely have a long-term presence in Greenland after the agreement was ratified.

Copenhagen also hoped Arctic Sentry, a military operation launched in the High North Atlantic and Arctic region in February, would become permanent, Bruus said.

Greenland Energy, a Texas-based oil and exploration firm developing resources in east Greenland, said the agreement identifies potential opportunities in the construction, maintenance, and servicing of existing and new U.S. defense areas.