Under the agreement, both parties will work to deliver a global communications campaign for next year's postponed Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

They will collaborate on major events and share strategy, policy, development and the promotion of people with disabilities.

The IPC will also aim to engage and encourage its commercial and broadcast partners to join The Valuable 500.

"We are tremendously excited by our partnership with The Valuable 500 as it will help create greater opportunities for persons with disabilities and help change the storyline around disability," said IPC President Andrew Parsons.

"In today's age, it is totally unacceptable that the number of persons with disabilities in employment around the world is nowhere near reflective of the 15 per cent global population who have a disability.

"Research has proven that Para-sport, and in particular the Paralympic Games, act as a catalyst to changing attitudes towards disability which, in turn, leads to greater employment opportunities.

"We hope this partnership with The Valuable 500 can create even more opportunities for the wider disabled community.

"Ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, we are establishing a network of organisations who share our passion such as The Valuable 500 and the International Disability Alliance.

"By working together, we will launch a major global campaign that will aim to change the stigma attached to disability and fight the discrimination persons with disabilities face on a daily basis."

The Valuable 500 was launched in 2019 at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos in Switzerland, with the campaign calling for business leaders to enable people with disabilities to be included more in their companies.

To date, more than 340 companies from 31 countries have committed to disability inclusion, including many of the IPC's partners and suppliers such as Airbnb, Channel 4, Coca Cola European Partners and Ottobock.