Mumbai, 8 October 2026:
His Excellency, the Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Jishnu Dev Varma, formally released the BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave 2026 Summary Report at Lok Bhavan, Mumbai, today, marking an important step towards advancing international city-to-city cooperation.
His Excellency, the Governor of Maharashtra complimented Mumbai First on this excellent initiative and strongly suggested to take this city-to-city partnership with BRICS countries for sustainable and future-ready Mumbai city.
Mumbai First is advancing discussions with Shanghai on sea-level rise and coastal resilience, Beijing on air pollution, and St. Petersburg on solid waste management and zero-landfill solutions. These engagements aim to facilitate knowledge exchange, share best practices and explore collaborative approaches to shared urban challenges.
As a significant step towards strengthening these partnerships, a delegation from the Government of St. Petersburg is scheduled to visit Mumbai from 31 January to 7 February 2027 for institutional dialogue, technical exchanges and discussions on potential areas of cooperation, particularly in solid waste management and urban sustainability.
The meeting reaffirmed the importance of sustained international partnerships in addressing complex urban challenges and advancing solutions relevant to Mumbai’s development priorities.