[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 13, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 22017-22018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08706]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 71 / Wednesday, April 13, 2016 / 
Presidential Documents  

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                Proclamation 9420 of April 8, 2016

                
Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2016

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                A decade before the turn of the 19th century, 
                representatives of countries from across the Western 
                Hemisphere formed what would become the Organization of 
                American States, striving to ensure peace and democracy 
                through unity and cooperation among our nations. As we 
                mark 126 years since its founding, we also celebrate 
                the 15th anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic 
                Charter--a declaration of our belief in democracy as 
                the common form of government for all countries in our 
                hemisphere. On Pan American Day and during Pan American 
                Week, we reflect on the progress our countries have 
                made together, and we recommit to reaching for a 
                brighter day for all our peoples.

                Throughout our hemisphere, increased integration has 
                generated greater growth and prosperity. Since I took 
                office, exports and imports between the United States 
                and the rest of the hemisphere have increased by more 
                than 50 percent. We are involved in more trade and 
                economic partnerships that reduce poverty, spur 
                opportunity, and empower young people with the skills 
                and job training they need to compete in the global 
                economy. Our nations have partnered to develop clean, 
                affordable, and reliable energy sources and ensure all 
                countries have open access to data to combat climate 
                change--a reality that threatens all our peoples and 
                that we addressed in Paris late last year, when the 
                world came together to negotiate the most ambitious 
                climate agreement in history.

                The nations of the Americas have made tremendous 
                progress on important issues, and our work remains 
                rooted in the bonds of friendship and family between 
                our peoples. For too long, the United States and Cuba 
                remained isolated, and while our governments will 
                continue to have areas of disagreement, our people have 
                long shared common values and ideals. That is why we 
                reestablished diplomatic relations between our 
                countries--for the first time in over 50 years, the 
                American flag flies above our reopened embassy in 
                Havana; and I recently visited our neighbor 90 miles to 
                the South, becoming the first United States President 
                to do so in nearly nine decades. By extending a new 
                hand of friendship to the Cuban people, we mark the 
                beginning of a relationship that will offer fresh hope 
                for both our futures and improve the lives of those 
                living in both our countries. Following my trip to 
                Cuba, I visited Argentina, which has begun advancing 
                ambitious reforms to spur economic growth and has 
                pledged to help address important global challenges, 
                such as peacekeeping and the Syrian refugee crisis.

                Across the board, the United States has deepened our 
                engagement in the Americas. We initiated the 100,000 
                Strong in the Americas initiative to encourage more 
                exchanges between our hemisphere's students. Last year, 
                I launched the Young Leaders of the Americas 
                Initiative, which will address opportunity gaps that 
                persist for too many of our neighboring nations' youth 
                by empowering them with the tools and resources they 
                need to reach their full potential. Just as our 
                countries must foster hope and prosperity, we must also 
                address serious challenges. We will continue defending 
                and strengthening civil society, because when all our 
                people have a voice in

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                shaping the future of our hemisphere, we all do better. 
                The United States is working with Colombia to reduce 
                violence and achieve peace, as we do throughout Central 
                America. We will also keep coordinating with the 
                nations of the Americas to prevent, detect, and respond 
                to the spread of Zika. And later this year, I look 
                forward to joining other leaders of the Asia-Pacific 
                Economic Cooperation forum in Peru for the next 
                Economic Leaders' meeting.

                Millions of people in the United States are tied to the 
                rest of the countries in our hemisphere through 
                commerce and family. We are more than just nations--we 
                are neighbors, bound in common cause and possibility 
                not by our leaders, but by the citizens of the Americas 
                and the interests we share. Let us move forward, as one 
                people, in a spirit of unity and cooperation. Together, 
                we can reach a future in which every young person--from 
                Argentina to Alaska--knows peace, dignity, and 
                opportunity, and can embark on paths that stretch 
                beyond their neighborhood and into the wider Western 
                Hemisphere and the entire world.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim April 14, 2016, as 
                Pan American Day and April 10 through April 16, 2016, 
                as Pan American Week. I urge the Governors of the 50 
                States, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto 
                Rico, and the officials of the other areas under the 
                flag of the United States of America to honor these 
                observances with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and fortieth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2016-08706
Filed 4-12-16; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F6-P