Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake subsequently honoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the highest award to a foreign head of state, Mitra Vibhushana. Dissanayake said that PM Modi highly deserves this honour.
In a joint press statement alongside PM Modi, Dissanayake said, “I am pleased to announce that the Government of Sri Lanka has decided to confer upon him (PM Narendra Modi) the highest Sri Lankan honour to a foreign head of state/head of government- Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana. This prestigious honour, which was introduced in 2008, is conferred upon heads of states and government for their friendship, and honourable Prime Minister Modi highly deserves this honour; that is what we firmly believe.”