Alexandria, Egypt’s second-largest city, was founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great. Over millennia, it has been shaped — and reshaped — by natural disasters.
Mumbai, India’s financial hub, has a more modern history but an equally complex geography. Located along the Arabian Sea, the city has already witnessed significant sea-level rise.
The history of both cities tells us one thing clearly: no one can go against nature in the long run. The future of these cities depends on our ability to adapt, collaborate, and build resilient urban systems.
Alexandria has lost over 40% of its beaches in the past 25 years due to coastal erosion, heavy construction, and privatisation. Though certified by UNESCO as Africa’s first ‘tsunami-ready’ city, many locals feel the city is ill-prepared for future disasters. Furthermore, urban growth, especially along the Corniche, has intensified coastal vulnerability, leading to heightened beach erosion and deterioration of marine ecosystems. In India, the situation is equally urgent. A study by the Bengaluru-based think tank, CSTEP, warns that more than 10% of Mumbai’s land is at risk of inundation by 2040.
India and Egypt already enjoy strong bilateral ties spanning cultural exchanges, economic, security and defence cooperation, and maritime collaboration. With both countries facing the growing threat of climate change, particularly sea-level rise impacting their coastal cities, there is now an urgent need to extend this partnership into the realm of climate resilience.
A Coastal Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation framework between India and Egypt should be established to enhance their collaboration on climate issues and build on their Strategic Partnership and the current memorandum on environmental
cooperation. A city-to-city framework between Alexandria and Mumbai would be a key step towards allowing technical exchanges among local governments, planning and research institutions.
One of the most valuable areas for collaboration lies in knowledge-sharing and technical expertise. Egypt’s achievement in making Alexandria ‘tsunami-ready’ can serve as a model for Indian cities. On the other hand, India’s advances in urban planning, flood forecasting, and the use of satellite-based remote sensing technologies can support Egypt’s efforts to build smarter, more resilient cities.
Alexandria and Mumbai could also co-develop frameworks that include updated zoning laws to protect ecological buffers like mangroves, impose stricter building norms along coastlines, and promote green infrastructure projects such as artificial reefs, wetlands, and restored floodplains that help mitigate storm surges and erosion.
The action plan should include disaster risk financing as a key component.
India and Egypt can improve their fiscal readiness and get the private sector involved by creating new financial tools like resilience bonds or parametric insurance mechanisms.
Community engagement must also be at the heart of this collaboration, with local populations in both countries playing a vital role in monitoring environmental changes.
Finally, academic and scientific cooperation between Indian and Egyptian institutions — connecting educational centres like the Indian Institutes of Technology, Alexandria University, Cairo University and Ain Shams University — would strengthen the technical and research base needed for long-term resilience.
The idea of twinning Alexandria and Mumbai transcends symbolism. It could be the foundation of a shared fight for survival in the age of climate change.
Samir Bhattacharya is Associate Fellow at Observer Research Foundation. Hebatallah Adam is Professor of Economics and Associate Dean for Doctoral Studies at Jindal School of International Affairs