Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 72 / Wednesday, April 15, 2015 / Presidential Documents 20405 

Proclamation 9254 of April 10, 2015 

Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2015 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

One hundred and twenty-five years ago, delegates from countries throughout 

the Western Hemisphere came together to establish the International Union 

of American Republics, the forerunner to what is today the oldest regional 

international organization in the world: the Organization of American States. 

In the years since, our nations have collaborated to address regional challenges and improve the lives of people across the Americas. On Pan American 

Day and during Pan American Week, we reaffirm our hemisphere’s enduring 

friendship, and we recommit to working as equal partners to support robust 

civil societies and expand opportunity. 

The United States and our regional neighbors are bound by our mutual 

desire for peace and stability, and the common yearning of all our peoples— 

to build a better life for themselves and their families. We share vibrant 

people-to-people connections and extensive economic links. These ties are 

vital to our security and prosperity, and when we work together to strengthen 

them, we help ensure a brighter future for the next generation. 

My Administration is dedicated to joining with our Pan American partners 

to promote and protect human rights, open markets, expand fair trade, 

and advance the values of democracy and freedom. Last December, we 

began a new chapter in this commitment. In the most significant changes 

to our policy in more than 50 years, the United States is beginning to 

normalize our relations with Cuba. As we extend a hand of friendship 

to the Cuban people, we have the potential to lift up a nation and end 

a legacy of mistrust in our hemisphere. 

We continue to expand trade among the nations of the Americas because 

we know when we allow businesses to grow their markets it extends opportunity to a wider circle of people. We are fostering small business connections 

throughout the Americas and bolstering women-owned and managed enterprises. Through the 100,000 Strong in the Americas initiative, the United 

States is striving to increase educational exchanges that open doors to new 

markets, innovative research, and region-wide prosperity. And as our nations 

face common energy and environmental concerns, my Administration is 

working with leaders and experts from the region to ensure every person 

in the Western Hemisphere will have access to the electricity they need 

at a price they can afford—in a manner that is socially responsible and 

environmentally beneficial. 

As we head into this week, I will attend the Summit of the Americas 

in Panama. As leaders from across the Pan American community come 

together, we will continue our work to address the shared challenges our 

countries face today. When our people—our leaders, our civil society members, and all the sons and daughters of the Americas—join in a spirit 

of mutual interest and mutual respect, we can build a future of greater 

peace, security, and possibility for every person who calls the Americas 

home. 

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, 2015, 

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20406 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 72 / Wednesday, April 15, 2015 / Presidential Documents 

as Pan American Day and April 12 through April 18, 2015, 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 tenth day of 

April, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence 

of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08829 

Filed 4–14–15; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3295–F5 


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