It is an extension of a previous deal signed in 2014, with global powerlifting equipment manufacturer Eleiko now set to increase its support to the Local Organising Committees of World Para Powerlifting events. 

Eleiko will also continue to develop sport specific equipment for Para-powerlifting and extend the partnership to educational programmes supported by World Para Powerlifting.

The new contract was officially signed in a meeting at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) headquarters in Bonn in Germany.

IPC President Andrew Parsons and Eleiko Group chief executive Erik Blomberg were both present.  

"Eleiko has been an important partner for many years and the new agreement with World Para Powerlifting will have a significant impact on the development of the sport around the world," Parsons said.

Blomberg added: "Eleiko's mission is to make people stronger so they better perform in sports and in life.

"We see our partnership with World Para Powerlifting as an integral part of it.

"We are fully committed to promote the sport and the benefits of fitness activities for all."

The 2019 season is due to begin next month with the Fazza World Cup in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The year's most important competition will be the World Championships in Kazakhstan's capital Astana in July.

"World Para Powerlifting and Eleiko have a very strong partnership," Jorge Moreno, head of World Para Powerlifting, said.

"We are very happy to announce the new agreement and look forward to working together in the next five-year cycle."

When the partnership between the two organisations was initially announced in October 2014, Eleiko vowed to work with IPC Powerlifting, as World Para Powerlifting was then known, to try to raise the profile of the sport which had been tarnished by a series of doping scandals. 

Anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) are still prevalent. 

Last week, Indian powerlifter Vikram Singh Adhikari, who competed at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, was banned for four years after he committed a second ADRV.

The IPC said a sample by Adhikari at the 2017 Fazza World Cup in Dubai contained clomiphene, which can be used to accelerate testosterone secretion.

It is banned both in and out-of-competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency.