New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Istanbul-based journalist couple Yunus and Fulya Soner worked extensively for the past two days covering the BRICS Summit in Delhi. With just one leisure day in India for them before they head back to Turkiye, Fulya made a special request to her husband – to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra.
Yunus, a correspondent for teleSUR television network, based in Venezuela, said this is the first time that his wife has travelled to the east of Turkiye.
“We came to India on a work visit. Now, with the Summit being over, we have a day off tomorrow, and she desires that we should visit the iconic monument Taj Mahal,” he told PTI at the International Media Centre hosted at the Bharat Mandapam complex.
Fulya on Sunday evening said, “It’s decided, we will go to the Taj.” Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world and a 17th century architectural marvel, was built over a period of 22 years by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is one of the major tourist attractions in India.
Hundreds of foreign journalists from BRICS member and partner countries converged in the national capital to cover the two-day Summit under India’s Chairship.
In a major diplomatic victory for India, the BRICS grouping adopted a consensus joint New Delhi Declaration on Saturday.
Journalists from China, Russia, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia, among others, reported on the Summit and its outcomes.
Between filing their reports for newspapers or TV channels, a cross-section of these mediapersons spoke to PTI on their experience of covering the 18th BRICS Summit and what they wish to explore in India before returning home.
While most of them will start departing soon, a group of about 60 journalists are visiting New Delhi as part of a “special familiarisation trip” coinciding with the BRICS Summit, and on Monday, the batch is scheduled to visit Mumbai.
The trip is being organised by the Ministry of External Affairs. Various familiarisation trips are organised by the MEA from time to time. This one is special as it was aligned with the Summit, so that they could see Delhi and also cover the Summit, people familiar with the matter said.
“Tommorrow they will be departing for Mumbai, where they are set to explore city life, Mumbai Metro Rail, Bombay Stock Exchange and National Payments Corporation of India,” a person cited above told PTI.
They will also get to know about the municipal administration of Mumbai.
Yasmin Natasha, 27, another Malaysian journalist, who is in Delhi to cover the BRICS Summit, said, “We visited Taj; it was wonderful, and now we will be going to Mumbai tomorrow.” Several foreign journalists who visited New Delhi for the BRICS Summit said it was their first-ever trip to India, and they enjoyed the experience and desired to explore more beyond work if they had time.
Huang Yue, a reporter, is part of the 12-member team from Beijing-headquartered China Global Television Network (CGTN) which covered the mega Summit.
“Since my school and college days, we always talked about the culture of other countries, clothes, architecture, etc, and both India and China, being old civilisations, have had a long history and it’s always great to have cultural and people-to-people exchanges,” she told PTI.
Huang said if she has time, she would like to “explore some of the sightseeing places in Delhi. I haven’t even been to the India Gate yet”.
Indonesian journalist Fahri Zulfikar, who works for a news portal, was also in New Delhi to cover the Summit.
“Cultural ties are important, and India and Indonesia also have a historic connection. We have the famous temples which are also visited by Indian tourists,” he said.
A native and resident of Yogyakarta, Zulfikar also recalled Prime Minister Modi’s trip to this region during his official visit to Indonesia in July 2026. PTI KND MNK MNK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.