Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2013

Vol. 78

Wednesday,

No. 74

April 17, 2013

Part IV

The President

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Proclamation 8957--Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2013

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 8957 of April 12, 2013

Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2013

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

One hundred and twenty-three years ago, countries
across the Western Hemisphere came together to found
the International Union of American Republics--a
forerunner to the Organization of American States and a
foundation for progress throughout the region. In the
decades since, nations in the Americas have forged
lasting partnerships in trade, security, and democracy
that reflect our shared commitment to peace and
prosperity. As we celebrate those ties this week, we
recognize the Pan American community's accomplishments
and recommit to advancing common goals.

Delivering prosperity for all our people takes strong,
broad-based economic growth. That is why my
Administration has worked tirelessly to boost trade
with our partners abroad and open new markets for
American products. We have worked together to increase
lending through the Inter-American Development Bank,
promote microfinance, reform tax systems, eliminate
barriers to investment, and forge clean energy and
climate partnerships. In the United States, we have
secured trade agreements with Colombia and Panama.
Alongside partners like Canada, Mexico, Chile, and
Peru, we are making progress toward a Trans-Pacific
Partnership. And inter-American trade is continuing to
expand dramatically, supporting millions of jobs here
in the United States and still more abroad.

These initiatives are strengthening economies across
the Americas. And just as the benefits of trade and
development should be shared between nations, we also
know they should be shared within nations. That takes
the assurance of security and transparency, education
and equality, human rights and the rule of law. As
countries throughout the hemisphere build up those
fundamental protections and opportunities for their
citizens, the United States will work alongside them.
It is a commitment we make not only because it is the
right thing to do--we make it knowing that our futures
depend on what we can do together as partners in
progress.

On Pan American Day and during Pan American Week, we
renew the bonds of friendship that unite us across
cultures and continents. Let us mark this week by
reinvesting in the prosperity and dignity of our
peoples, confident that the Americas' best days are
still ahead.

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, 2013, as
Pan American Day and April 14 through April 20, 2013,
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
twelfth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
seventh.