Iceland is set to become the first British high street brand to open a shop in the Falkland Islands, with a new supermarket due to open in the capital, Stanley, in early December.
The announcement comes just days after Argentine President Javier Milei reopened the long-running dispute over ownership of the islands, vowing to "recover" the territory.
Iceland boss Richard Walker said the company was "proud to be backing Britain by becoming the first UK high street retailer to open in the Falkland Islands." He said the Falklands were "a special part of the British family" and that supporting the territory had "always been an ambition" of his.
Walker added that the opening would mark "an important moment for the business" and its "international aspirations."
The store is being launched in partnership with local retailer Keller Stores. Iceland said it will stock its own-label frozen products alongside brands including My Protein, Cathedral City and TGI Fridays.
Iceland, a UK-based frozen food retailer, operates 960 stores in Britain and around 40 more internationally, and holds roughly 2.3 per cent of the UK grocery market.
Lord Walker said he would personally travel to the Falklands to officially open the store, adding that he was "looking forward to welcoming our new customers through the door."
Argentina's renewed sovereignty claim
The Falklands are a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic that has been at the centre of a sovereignty dispute with Argentina, which calls the islands Las Malvinas. In a televised address, Milei reiterated Argentina's claim, arguing that Britain was a country "on a path of decline" facing "multiple crises of a migratory, demographic and economic nature that are unlikely to be resolved." He said Argentina's future was "flourishing and will prevail."
Milei said: "The Falklands are Argentinian. Historically and legally. There can be no argument. They are part of the Argentine territory." He went on to say that "the islanders on their usurped territory do not have a legitimate right to self-determination and any argument on any such self-determination is invalid."
He also pledged to hit oil companies drilling in the territory with sanctions, and said he would file criminal charges against the Israeli energy firm Navitas Petroleum for operating in Falklands waters.
UK government response
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband responded by writing that "the Islands are British and will remain so because that is the overwhelming position of the islanders."
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the UK's commitment to the territory was "absolute and unshakeable."
Walker's campaign against retail crime
Lord Walker is known for speaking out against shoplifting and abusive incidents against shop workers in the UK. He has recently proposed allowing trained security staff in shops to carry equipment such as truncheons and pepper spray.
