Highest Russian Civilian Award for a Sri Lankan

06-Nov-2025

.

Saman Weerasinghe, General Secretary of the Sri Lanka–Russia Friendship Society and Head of the Russian Geographical Society in Sri Lanka, has been conferred with Russia’s highest civilian honour, the State Award of the Russian Federation for Friendship (“Order of Friendship”).

On Russia’s National Unity Day (November 4), President Vladimir Putin presented this prestigious award to Dr. Saman Weerasinghe at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow, in recognition of his decades-long contribution to strengthening diplomatic, cultural, and economic relations between Sri Lanka and Russia.

President Putin, addressing the ceremony, noted that “Dr. Weerasinghe has made remarkable contributions toward enhancing cultural and humanitarian relations with Russia,” and commended his efforts to further bilateral ties.

In his acceptance speech, Dr. Weerasinghe expressed gratitude to President Putin for the recognition and reaffirmed his commitment to deepening cultural, educational, and humanitarian cooperation between Sri Lanka and Russia.

It is notable that Dr. Saman Weerasinghe served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Russia from 2015 to 2018 and currently serves as both the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka–Russia Friendship Society and Head of the Russian Geographical Society Center in Colombo.