Expert on Landry visit to Nuuk: Unwelcome noise

On Wednesday, Greenland's Chamber of Commerce updated their list of participants for the Future Greenland conference on May 19-20 in Nuuk with a sensational guest; Trump's special envoy to Greenland Jeff Landry, who is the governor of the state of Louisiana.

– As I understand it, Jeff Landry's ambition is still to help Donald Trump make Greenland part of the United States. So that must be the long-term goal with everything he does, says Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, a senior researcher at DIIS in US foreign policy and continues:

– The most obvious thing is that his participation in the conference is about strengthening some ties and showing Greenland what the United States has to offer in terms of investments and cooperation opportunities.

– It is clear that, considering what Jeff Landry has said previously, and the fact that he is very close to Trump when it comes to the ambition to take control of Greenland, I would expect a reasonable amount of skepticism about his intentions with the visit, says Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard.

Problematic role

According to Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, Jeff Landry's role as special envoy is in many ways diplomatically delicate for both Denmark and Greenland.

– Why do you need a special envoy when you have a consulate in Nuuk and an embassy in Denmark? Why not handle the relationship through formal channels? Jeff Landry is in that way unwelcome noise that is not part of the formal diplomatic system. He represents the line in the Trump administration that we cannot talk to because it is unacceptable for Greenland and Denmark, says Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard.

A platform in Greenland

Associate professor at the Danish Defence Academy Peter Viggo Jakobsen believes that Jeff Landry's registration as a guest at the Future Greenland conference is a logical consequence of the task he has been given by the American president.

– It is part of his work as Trump's special envoy to undertake a task in relation to Greenland. And here he has the opportunity to take up and show the flag, so I suppose that is what it is about. Trump keeps saying that he wants to control Greenland, and now there is a platform and media attention, and he is trying to exploit it, which is logical.

The diplomatic track

Peter Viggo Jakobsen believes that one should refrain from making too much fuss about the visit.

– It seems that the negotiations taking place in the working group are going really well. And as long as it runs on diplomatic tracks, there is peace and order, and that is our interest. The more we let diplomacy go its usual boring course, the better, says Peter Viggo Jakobsen.

According to the list of participants for Future Greenland, the following have registered from the USA: