Ethiopia Calls for UN Reform, Announces COP32 Hosting, and Demands Sea Access

Ethiopian President Taye Atske-Selassie Amde took the podium at the 81st United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23, 2026, delivering a sweeping address that positioned his country as both a climate champion and a vocal challenger of the global order. From announcing that Addis Ababa will host COP32 to demanding permanent Security Council seats for Africa, the speech blended domestic achievement with pointed moral arguments aimed squarely at the world's power brokers.

• Ethiopia to host COP32 in November 2027, inviting all world leaders to the first major African-hosted climate summit in years
• Africa's 1.6 billion people denied permanent Security Council representation — Ethiopia calls it a generational moral failing and demands immediate reform
• 56 billion trees planted since 2019 under Green Legacy Initiative, with projected annual carbon sequestration of 1.2 billion metric tons of CO2
• $12.5 billion mega-airport announced, designed to handle 110 million passengers and catalyze continental free trade
• Ethiopia pursues diplomatic sea access, calling it essential for sustained development as a landlocked nation
• 5 Million Coders Program and AI university cited as proof the Global South can lead the technological revolution

President Taye Atske-Selassie Amde opened his address by reaching back to a wound in Ethiopian memory — the League of Nations' failure to protect Ethiopia against fascist aggression in the 1930s — and connecting it directly to the present fragility of the multilateral order.