Mumbai to Host BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave 2026 at Four Seasons Hotel
Urban administrators, climate experts, and policymakers from BRICS and partner nations will gather at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai on August 11 and 12 for the BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave 2026. The two-day international event aims to address major urban challenges confronting rapidly growing cities, including climate change, traffic congestion, air pollution, housing shortages, and rapid development.
The conclave is themed 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.' It will bring together specialists from India, Russia, China, South Africa, Egypt, Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, Iran, and other partner countries to develop strategies for making cities more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable.
The opening session, titled 'Protecting Coastal Cities: Managing Sea-Level Rise, Coastal Erosion, and Flood Risks,' is designed to focus on issues directly impacting coastal hubs like Mumbai. Key speakers for this session include retired IAS officer Sanjay Ubale, Indonesia's Nurina Widagdo, Shanghai Smart City Development Institute president Sheng Xuefeng, and Dr Alaaeldin Sayed Ewase from Egypt.
Addressing rising temperatures in urban areas, a dedicated session on 'Cooling Cities' will explore nature-based solutions and climate-responsive design. Speakers for this discussion include climate adaptation expert Dr Vishwas Chitale, Dr Oommen John from the Gates Foundation, and Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Commissioner Abhinav Goyal.
Transportation and transit infrastructure will feature prominently with a focus on Maharashtra and Mumbai. Maharashtra Institution for Transformation CEO Praveen Pardeshi and MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee will participate in conversations examining integrated, low-carbon transport infrastructure alongside international representatives from China, Brazil, and Russia.
A separate session on air pollution will gather experts from India, China, and South Africa to evaluate air-quality management strategies, industrial pollution control, vehicle emissions, and PM2.5 reduction targets.
Social infrastructure will also be discussed, with a session dedicated to inclusive housing and community-led urban regeneration. This panel features MHADA Vice-President and CEO Sanjeev Jaiswal along with specialists from Malaysia and Iran.
The concluding session will focus on AI-enabled urban governance, assessing its capability to transform public service delivery and administrative decision-making. Maharashtra Additional Chief Secretary Aseem Gupta and experts from India and Russia are scheduled to participate.
Organisers aim to use the two-day gathering as a platform for sharing urban governance practices and strengthening international cooperation toward resilient and sustainable cities.
