Category: Dec2015

In late April, President Obama will travel to Germany to participate in the Hannover Messe – the world’s largest trade show for industrial technology – and to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel. Founded in 1947, the Hannover Messe attracts approximately 6,500 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors from across the globe each year. The President’s participation – a…

As the President announced in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last month, he will host leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year. The summit will take place at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California on February 15-16, 2016.  This unprecedented gathering – the first hosted by the United States with the ASEAN leaders — builds…

Having welcomed developments in Ethiopia earlier this year–including the release of several detained bloggers–that suggested increased protections for the fundamental right of free expression, we are deeply concerned by the recent arrests of other journalists in Ethiopia. We continue to urge the Ethiopian Government to build on earlier developments by strengthening free speech protections and…

On Thursday, February 4, 2016, the President will welcome President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia to the White House for an official working visit.  The leaders will hold a bilateral meeting and a commemoration of 15 years of bipartisan cooperation through Plan Colombia, the joint effort to create a safer, more prosperous future for Colombians. …

The United States congratulates the Governments of Japan and the Republic of Korea on reaching an agreement, which they have made clear “finally and irreversibly” addresses the tragic treatment of “comfort women” during World War II.  We support this agreement and its full implementation, and believe this comprehensive resolution is an important gesture of healing…

President Obama and the First Lady will welcome Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and his wife, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, to the White House for an Official Visit with a State Dinner on Thursday, March 10, 2016.  The visit will be an opportunity for the United States and Canada to deepen their bilateral relationship, which is…

On Monday, December 28, 2015, the President signed into law: H.R. 1321, the “Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015,” which prohibits the manufacture and introduction into interstate commerce of rinse-off cosmetics containing intentionally-added plastic microbeads; and S. 2425, the “Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act,” which makes changes to Medicare payments for certain complex rehabilitation technology…

Marine Corps Base Hawaii – Kaneohe Bay 4:32 P.M. HAST      THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  Merry Christmas!  Mele Kalikimaka!  Happy New Year!  Happy Hanukkah!  We just want to — hope you guys are having a great holiday.  And it is wonderful to see all of you.      This is one of our favorite things to…

Michelle and I extend our warmest wishes to families across the country celebrating Kwanzaa this holiday season. Today begins a week-long celebration of African-American heritage and culture through family and community festivities. Kwanzaa’s seven principles – unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith – are also shared values that bind…

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, the President and First Lady wished Americans a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. They celebrated the values of the season, and in that spirit of gratitude honored all the brave men and women in uniform fighting to keep us safe, as well as the families that stand by…