Trine Bramsen welcomes new strategic partnership between Royal Danish Defence College and University of Greenland

Dean at the Royal Danish Defence College, Peter Dahl Thruelsen, and rector at University of Greenland, Gitte Adler Reimer, have signed a strategic cooperation agreement on more research and education on Arctic security policy

The initiative has been well received by both the Government of Denmark and the Government of Greenland.

Minister of Defense, Trine Bramsen, who visited the Royal Danish Defence College on 04 November, wants closer cooperation in the Danish Realm, including between Denmark and Greenland:

"The Danish Defence is to contribute even more than today to security throughout the Danish Realm. This requires closer cooperation in a number of areas. We both have to grant access to our educational programmes, and become even better at listening to input and perspectives from Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Therefore, I am pleased that the Royal Danish Defence College and University of Greenland now sign a cooperation agreement concerning education and research that will benefit us all", she says.

The Greenlandic Minister for Education, Culture, Church and Foreign Affairs, Ane Lone Bagger, also welcomes the cooperation agreement between University of Greenland and the Royal Danish Defence College:

"The Danish Realm’s defence is also Greenland’s defence, and it is natural that the University of Greenland now has established a collaboration with the Royal Danish Defence College. The Arctic superpower competition means that many have become aware of the central location of our country. The changes in the Arctic not only matter to superpowers, but in particular it matters to us, who call the Arctic our home. It is therefore gratifying that we in the Arctic now have the opportunity to contribute to the development of knowledge about the Arctic. We have to work on it being us who live in the Arctic that defines the Arctic, and here I believe that development of knowledge about the Arctic must happen here in Greenland. I would like to encourage Greenlandic students to make good use of the new opportunities that are now opening up between University of Greenland and the Royal Danish Defence College", she says.

Cooperation agreement focusing on knowledge of Arctic diplomacy and security policy

The collaboration agreement is based on both educational and research collaboration, the opportunity to exchange lecturers and hosting joint science conferences.

The agreement will thus underpin the need for closer cooperation on research and education in the context of the new security policy challenges for the Danish Realm. From here, the Royal Danish Defence College and University of Greenland will be able to share their knowledge with Danish and Greenland authorities, the rest of the Danish Defence, the Government of Denmark and the Government of Greenland.

More information and contact

If you want to know more about the agreement, then feel free to e-mail Emilie Lykke Crillesen at the Royal Danish Defence College at [email protected], or Rasmus Leander Nielsen at University of Greenland at [email protected].

The agreement became effective from 07 November 2019.