Mitra Vibhushana Award

Published on 13 Oct 2025

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded the ‘Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana’, the country’s highest civilian honour.

• The Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana (Sri Lankan Friendship Decoration) honours Heads of State and government heads with whom Sri Lanka has cordial relations. 

• Instituted in 2008 by then-president Mahinda Rajapaksa, it is the foremost among awards granted to foreigners. 

• It is awarded at the discretion of the President of Sri Lanka and is the highest honour to non-Sri Lankan nationals.

• It was awarded only three times prior to this - Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (President of the Maldives) in 2008, Mahmoud Abbas (President of the Palestinian National Authority) – in 2014 and Yasser Arafat (Former President of the Palestinian National Authority) – Posthumously awarded in 2014.

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Keywords:

Mitra Vibhushana Award Awards Honours civilian honour Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa