Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was awarded an honorary doctorate from Deakin University in Australia for significant contributions in reforms in economy, education and human rights in Sri Lanka, Deputy Minister Harsha de Silva said.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister received the honorary doctorate on the first day of his official visit to Australia. Ranil Wickremesinghe and his wife Maithree Wickramasinghe arrived in Melbourne on Monday night.

The prime minister was awarded an honorary doctorate in law at a graduation ceremony at Deakin University in Geelong on Tuesday.

The award recognises his efforts to help Sri Lanka transition from a country traumatised by protracted, violent conflict toward a stable democracy.

“Mr Wickremesinghe has emphasised the need for reconciliation, whilst ensuring accountability, and enabled groups riven by conflict to find common ground in a more hopeful future,” a Deakin University spokeswoman told AAP.

He will also meet with Victorian Governor Linda Dessau while in the afternoon Mr Wickremesinghe will head to Canberra for a reception with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to commemorate 70 years of Australian-Sri Lankan diplomatic relations.

The pair will engage in a spot of cricket diplomacy later this week when Sri Lanka take on the Prime Minister’s XI team at Manuka Oval in Canberra.