Benjamin Joy Award Honors Outstanding Economic and Commercial Diplomacy

The Benjamin Joy Award, named after Benjamin Joy, the first U.S. Consul to India, was first established in 2016 to acknowledge and promote the partnership between the Departments of State and Commerce in advancing U.S. economic and commercial interests.  On April 2, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Ramin Toloui and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets, and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Arun Venkataraman, along with Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Sarah Morgenthau, hosted the 2024 Benjamin Joy Awards, honoring interagency collaboration with U.S. embassies to deliver significant wins for U.S. companies abroad.

The 17 embassies who submitted nominations showcased outstanding interagency collaboration that successfully advanced U.S. business and national economic objectives, often in the face of complex challenges within the host country.  With so many noteworthy nominees, the selection committee wishes to thank all nominating Chiefs of Mission and their teams for their outstanding work.

The winner in the category for Embassies with Foreign Commercial Service was: 

• Embassy Nairobi, which identified and supported investment climate reforms with the Kenyan government that facilitated investments, increased two-way trade, and positioned U.S. companies for continued growth in the market.  The team also created incentives to ease business reforms and expedite deal facilitation through aggressive, innovative efforts, delivering a transformative shift in our economic-commercial policy approach with Kenya.

The runners-up in the category for Embassies with Foreign Commercial Service were:

• Mission Vietnam, which enabled a landmark $1.6 billion U.S. investment to expand downstream processing in Vietnam for U.S. foundries, bolstering U.S. semiconductor supply chain resilience.
• Mission Norway, which encouraged $3.3 billion in new Norwegian investments in the United States that will create 1,300 U.S. jobs.

The winner in the category for Embassies without Foreign Commercial Service presence was:

• Embassy Nassau, which effectively eliminated untrusted telecommunications technology from the Bahamian market through advocacy that led to an $85 million nation-wide fiber-to-home internet expansion contract for a trusted telecom vendor, with confirmed plans to do the same for 5G adoption, which in turn will enable economic benefits not only for the Bahamas, but also for U.S. companies.

The runners-up in the category for Embassies without Foreign Commercial Service presence were:

• Embassy Lusaka, which supported a U.S. firm in closing a $150 million deal, which will underpin President Biden’s flagship Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment’s Lobito Corridor railway project linking Zambia to Angola.
• Embassy Pristina, which helped a major U.S. tech company secure $17 million from the host government for backpay and a new usage agreement.

Congratulations to all the nominees – which also included the Embassy Deal Teams in Azerbaijan, Brunei, Canada, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Ivory Coast, Portugal, Romania, and the UAE – for exemplifying excellence in commercial diplomacy.

The Benjamin Joy Award highlights the importance of collaboration and cooperation across the interagency to support U.S. companies through commercial diplomacy.  This prestigious award serves as a testament to the impact of joint efforts by the Department of State and the Department of Commerce to advance America’s economic interests on the global stage.