Donald Trump Jr. is expected to visit Greenland on Tuesday as his father, US President-elect Donald Trump, has again expressed interest in gaining control over the vast Arctic island.
The visit was a private one, the island's permanent secretary for foreign affairs, Mininnguaq Kleist, told Reuters, with no meetings scheduled with representatives of the Greenlandic government.
"We have not been briefed on the nature of his program, and therefore this is a private visit," Kleist said, adding that Trump Jr. was expected to land at around 1300 GMT, and to stay for about four to five hours.
A source familiar with the trip told Reuters that Trump Jr. was planning a one-day visit to shoot video content for a podcast and that he would not meet with any government officials or political figures.
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark with a population of just 57,000, boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth. But development has been slow, leaving its economy reliant on fishing and annual subsidies from Denmark.
The capital, Nuuk, is closer to New York than the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
"Greenland is open and those who wish to visit us are welcome," Greenland's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement.
President-elect Trump, who takes office on January 20, said his son and various representatives were going to visit "some of the most magnificent areas and sights".
On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump praised the island and promised to "MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!"
"Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation," he wrote.
Trump had expressed interest in buying Greenland during his 2017-2021 term but was publicly rebuffed by Greenlandic and Danish authorities before any conversations could take place.
Last week, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede, in a New Year speech, stepped up a push for independence from Denmark, breaking it free from "the shackles of colonialism" to shape its own future, although he did not mention the United States.
Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, said the idea of a U.S. takeover should be firmly rejected.
"I don't want to be a pawn in Trump's hot dreams of expanding his empire to include our country," she wrote.
Two weeks ago, Trump said on Truth Social that "the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."
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