On March 23, 2017 the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Russia organized a gala dinner reception at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Moscow in honour of the visit of the President of Sri Lanka H. E. Maithripala Sirisena to the Russian Federation at the invitation of the President of Russia H. E. Vladimir Putin and on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Russia.

 The reception gathered 350 guests among whom were an official Sri Lankan delegation, including Honorable Ministers, led by H. E. Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka, senior officials from such Russian government institutions as the Federation Council, State Duma, numerous Ministries, prominent representatives of the business, tourism and trade sectors of Russia. The Chief guests from the Russian side were Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Hon. Igor V. Morgulov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia and the Head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries Hon. Ilya V. Shestakov, cosmonauts Ms. Valentina Tereshkova, Mr. Vladimir Lyakhov, Mr. Alexander Alexandrov, Ambassador of Russia to Sri Lanka and Maldives H. E. Alexander Karchava.
Before the official programme the guests enjoyed the photo exhibition where they acquainted with archived documents related to Sri Lanka-Russia relations and were guided through all 60 years of friendship between Sri Lanka and Russia learning about historic moments happened since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries, tourism and investment sectors of Sri Lanka. The guests were also invited to a degustation of pure Ceylon tea at the Tea Counter arranged by the Embassy of Sri Lanka.
The main programme of the reception included screening of archived videos depicting very historically valuable moments of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Russia such as official visits of the former Prime Minister of Ceylon Madame Sirimavo Bandaranaike to the Soviet Union, traditional Russian and Sri Lankan dance performances and, of course, speeches given by the Guests of Honour.
The reception became one of the most memorable events during the official visit of H. E. Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka, to Russia and many Russian guests have already referred to this reception as one of the brightest and most beautiful events ever organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Russia.