Srilanka, Nov. 5 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has conferred one of the country's highest civilian honours-the Order of Friendship (Orden Druzhby)-on Dr. Saman Weerasinghe, Secretary General of the Sri Lanka-Russia Friendship Society and Head of the Russian Geographical Society in Sri Lanka. The award ceremony took place at the Kremlin in Moscow on Russian National Unity Day (November 4). Dr. Weerasinghe, a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Russian Federation, received the honour in recognition of his decades-long contribution to strengthening diplomatic, cultural, and economic relations between the two nations.

President Putin, addressing the ceremony, commended Dr. Weerasinghe's role in enhancing bilateral relations. "Saman Wee...