"We want to develop our business sector and diversify it, and that requires investments from outside”, Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s business minister told the Financial Times in a recent interview, hinting at China to fill the gap if the U.S. and EU don’t come out to play: ‘‘We do want to partner up with European and American partners. But if they don’t show up I think we need to look elsewhere.”  

Asked about the sudden American interest in Greenland, the minister said, “We sort of hoped that the Trump administration would be more willing to engage in dialogue with Greenland about the mineral sector development. We got a bit more than we asked for, because we have no wish to be American.” 

Regular readers of this esteemed publication may recall her name from a detailed interview in which she spoke in similar terms about American investment in Greenland. “There are ample opportunities for American investors to engage themselves in Greenland, not only in the mining sector, but in other sectors as well,” she told us. She’s correct. And the United States should make the Greenlanders an offer. 

There are many essays about the historic interest of the United States about Greenland, including from yours truly. That need not be rehashed, but the structural question remains underdiscussed. Greenland is a massive island, three times the size of Texas, but with a population that could fit in a football stadium with plenty of elbow room. Any major investment that could make individual Greenlanders all millionaires and Greenland the richest island in the Western Hemisphere will come with some strings attached. No one would want to invest in a place that doesn’t benefit them too: The profit motive works both ways. A second point: Everyone who would want to invest would need manpower to work in the projects involved. The scale of projects that Nathanielsen envisions would require not just massive amounts of cash, but also infrastructure and, most importantly, skilled labor and training for said labor.