President Trump has announced that large-scale oil, gas, and mineral exploration is set to begin in Greenland. The president made the statement on his social media platform, highlighting the island's potential resources and strategic location.
What happened
The announcement comes four weeks after the US signed a security agreement with Greenland and Denmark, which oversees the territory. The agreement aims to bolster the American military presence on the island and allows for the expansion of the existing Pituffik Space Base.
According to the agreement, the US can also establish additional bases on the island, and the parties can propose more defense areas as needed. The deal also blocks non-NATO countries from establishing bases on the island without agreement from the parties.
President Trump has long cited Greenland's strategic location as a reason for greater US control over the semi-autonomous island. Some industry experts believe that the island's mineral resources have only been lightly explored, and the cost of extraction has not made economic sense for private companies until now.
