Washington, DC - Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken will present the 17th annual Secretary of State’s Awards for Corporate Excellence (ACE) on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the Harry S Truman building, Washington, D.C. The award ceremony begins at 10:15 a.m.

The prestigious ACE, established in 1999, emphasizes the important role of U.S. businesses abroad in advancing ethical practices, sustainable development and democratic values through exemplary conduct in their overseas operations.

U.S. ambassadors from around the world nominated U.S. companies for this year’s award. A senior interagency committee selected the three winners from among the following ten finalists: Cargill Vietnam Ltd. in Vietnam, East Bali Cashews in Indonesia, Gigawatt Global in Rwanda, Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. in Hong Kong, I-DEV International in Peru, Newmont Ghana Gold Limited in Ghana, Runa LLC in Ecuador, Tegu in Honduras, Texas Instruments, Inc. in the Philippines, and Weyerhaeuser Productos S.A. in Uruguay.

The ceremony will be live streamed at http://video.state.gov/live/.