Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Amaratunga, Minister of Public Order & Christian Religious Affairs, Controller/Immigration & Emigration M.N. Ranasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mrs. C. Wagiswara and Acting Secretary to the Ministry of Public Order & Christian Religious Affairs W. A. Perera participated at the ceremony.
The provision of dual citizenship was restored in March 2015. 150 certificates were awarded to recipients today. Speaking at the occasion, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera noted that many had renewed ties with Sri Lanka again, to become citizens of the country and "make Sri Lanka's journey towards development, reconciliation, peace and prosperity your own again" and noted that there was much they could contribute and much Sri Lanka could learn from their experiences.