World Sailing claim the partnership with the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) and the Global Kitesports Association (GKA) will help avoid calendar conflicts and "further develop the various disciplines within World Sailing".

Under the agreement, which comes after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the three organisations in November, the GKA has the right to run expression events at world level.

This includes wave, strapless freestyle, big air, twin-tip freestyle, slider and obstacle disciplines, while the IKA will be responsible for the racing disciplines.

"The GKA shall be responsible for the development of pathways for expression events but shall work exclusively with the IKA and its national kiteboarding associations," a World Sailing statement said.

"The parties will work together exclusively on expression events below world level and development of event officials."

World Sailing can also authorise the GKA to allow other professional event organisations to run events in the expression disciplines on its behalf, as part of their special events agreement.

The IKA, as part of the MoU, agreed not to run, organise or sanction world level expression performance events or competitions.

World Sailing chief executive Andy Hunt said the agreement brought "clarity to the kiteboarding community at large".

"World Sailing will continue to work collaboratively with both parties to further benefit the discipline of kiteboarding and the riders," he added.

Kiteboarding - an extreme sport which combines wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, Paragliding and gymnastics - falls under the jurisdiction of World Sailing.

Divisions concerning kiteboarding have occured within the sport in recent years, particularly after it was briefly chosen to replace windsurfing on the Olympic programme for Rio 2016 in May 2012.

This decision was overturned amid fierce opposition from the sailing community just six months later.

The IKA claimed at a meeting in May that the International Olympic Committee "wishes to see a medal for kiteboarding" at Tokyo 2020.

Former World Sailing President Carlo Croce, who was unseated by Denmark's Kim Andersen in December of last year, announced in November that the programme of events would remain unchanged at the Games in the Japanese capital.

"The contract will finally give peace to the sport and it is the base for a prosperous development of the sport and for the advantage of professional riders of all disciplines," GKA secretary general Jörgen Vogt said.

"We all have to do our best now to live the good spirit of our wonderful sport and work together in harmony.”