Sri Lanka’s Saman Weerasinghe Receives Russia’s Top Civilian Honor
Russian President Vladimir Putin has conferred the Order of Friendship, one of Russia’s highest civilian honors, on Dr. Saman Weerasinghe, Secretary General of the Sri Lanka–Russia Friendship Society and Head of the Russian Geographical Society in Sri Lanka.
Dr. Weerasinghe, a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia, received the award in recognition of his decades-long contribution to strengthening diplomatic, cultural, and humanitarian ties between the two nations.
In his acceptance remarks, Dr. Weerasinghe expressed his gratitude to President Putin for the recognition and reaffirmed his commitment to furthering bilateral cooperation in education, culture, and people-to-people relations.
President Putin, speaking at the ceremony, commended Dr. Weerasinghe’s efforts, stating that he has made “a great contribution to strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties with Russia.”
The award ceremony was held in Moscow on Russia’s National Unity Day.
