COPENHAGEN, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Arctic and Greenland are on Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod's agenda when he visits the United States along with Greenland's Foreign Minister Ane Lone Bagger, the Danish Foreign Ministry said in a press release on Tuesday.
The two ministers will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington D.C. on Wednesday morning local time.
"The United States is our closest foreign and security ally. It is important to maintain the United States as a committed international partner and strengthen our cooperation when it comes to the challenges the world faces," said Kofod in the press release.
Greenland, with a population of some 56,000, is an autonomous territory of Denmark with the Danish government retaining control of its foreign affairs and defense.
In mid-August, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed purchasing Greenland from Denmark but was rejected. In reaction, Trump called Danish prime minister's statement "nasty" and postponed a planned visit to the Nordic state.
Later, near the end of August, the U.S. State Department, in a letter sent to Congress, said a U.S. consulate in Greenland would be "a critical component of our efforts to increase U.S. presence in the Arctic and would serve as an effective platform to advance U.S. interests in Greenland."
Denmark and Greenland have welcomed the proposal to re-open a U.S. consulate in Nuuk, Greenland's capital, in a year. The previous U.S. consulate there ran from 1940 to 1953.
