Secretary General of the Sri Lanka–Russia Friendship Society and Head of the Russian Geographical Society in Sri Lanka, Saman Weerasinghe, has been conferred one of Russia’s highest civilian honours, the Order of Friendship (Orden Druzhby).
According to reports, one of Russia’s most prestigious civilian honours was conferred on Saman Weerasinghe by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Russian National Unity Day (04 Nov).
Saman Weerasinghe received the honour in recognition of his decades-long contribution to strengthening diplomatic, cultural, and economic relations between the two nations.
“Saman Weerasinghe makes a great contribution to strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties with Russia,” President Putin said, addressing the ceremony, and commending Saman Weerasinghe’s role in enhancing bilateral relations.
In his acceptance speech, Saman Weerasinghe expressed gratitude to President Putin for acknowledging his contribution and reaffirmed his commitment to deepening cultural, educational, and humanitarian cooperation between Sri Lanka and Russia.
Saman Weerasinghe served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Russia from 2015 to 2018, and currently serves as General Secretary of the Sri Lanka–Russia Friendship Society and Chairman of the Centre of the Russian Geographical Society in Colombo. (Newswire)