Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and Mastercard Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga would be honoured with the global excellence award for their contribution to strengthening economic ties between the US and India, said a partnership Forum on Wednesday.

“Premji and Banga will receive the 2019 global excellence award at the second annual leadership summit of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in Washington on July 11 for their significant contribution to strengthening the economic ties between the two countries,” said the Forum in a statement from Washington.US President’s senior adviser Jared Kushner will present the awards to Premji and Banga at the summit. “Premji’s work to transform the Indian IT industry into a global powerhouse is a well-known fact.

Our award recognises his philanthropic efforts, which reflect his mission to change lives through education,” said Forum board Chairman John Chambers in the statement.Banga had been a champion of the US-India partnership, advancing the bilateral ties across multiple transitions.”Thanks to Banga’s work, along with Mastercard’s commitment to Digital India and Make in India, US firms continue to regard India with a positive outlook,” said former Chief Executive of global telecom networking products firm Cisco Systems on the occasion.

Noting that the Forum represented the best in fostering the collaborative spirit that was at the heart of the work, Premji said he was humbled by the award.”The award is a recognition for the commitment and contribution of my colleagues at Wipro and at the Azim Premji Foundation. The Forum is to tackle the challenges being faced by society,” said Premji.”We could not think of a more exemplary leader than Premji for this award,” added Chambers.Thanking the forum for the award, Banga said India and the US were born to be together as evident from the progress made over the decade between the countries.

“It is an honour to be recognised by the Forum for Mastercard’s involvement with it and our commitment to invest in India,” said Banga.US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi, US Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republic from Arkansas and Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Shringla will attend the leadership summit in Washington, DC, next week.

The summit will highlight bilateral cooperation, trade and investment, strategic energy ties, manufacturing and innovation partnership.”The summit is a testament to the bipartisan support for US-India relations. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election, there is huge opportunity to furthering the ties,” said Forum President Mukesh Aghi.

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