00:00Sweden is moving ahead with plans to set up a new foreign intelligence agency
00:05following criticism that its security services failed to anticipate Russia's full-scale invasion
00:10of Ukraine back in 2022. The proposal, first outlined in a public review and backed in
00:16principle last year, would create a civilian agency reporting directly to the government.
00:23Foreign Minister Maria Malmer-Stenegard confirmed the plan at a press conference.
00:27The new agency will operate alongside existing bodies, including Military Intelligence Service,
00:34the Security Service and the Signals Intelligence Agency. The government says the new agency is
00:40intended to strengthen Sweden's ability to gather and assess intelligence from abroad.
00:47Stenegard said the cost is expected to be around 300 million U.S. dollars,
00:52with funding largely reallocated from the armed forces budget.
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