Keen to bolster its cultural influence arsenal, the Russian foreign ministry is setting up a department to coordinate its various soft power policies and give a stronger terrain focus to the Rossotrudnichestvo, headed by Evgeni Primakov Jr.
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Government Intelligence 
Egypt's spymaster Abbas Kamel continues to play a decisive role in the mediation between Palestine's various factions and Israel. Keeping on good terms with Hamas, he hosted the first meeting of the organisation's new political bureau in Cairo at the start of October.
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After a big increase in funding for France's DGSE external intelligence service in 2021, it will be the turn of the DRSD, defence intelligence and security service, to receive substantial fresh funding for its major development projects in 2022.
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After resuming their diplomatic relations, Damascus and Abu Dhabi are back in business with one another again in conjunction with the Universal Exhibition. Syria has a major presence for the first time since 2011 and is counting on a new bilateral business council to attract Emirati investment.
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Part of a major new UK Home Office international cooperation framework contract is devoted to training in intelligence techniques and human sources management. Specialist firms like Minerva, Pinpoint and Torchlight, all set up by former army officers, have been selected for the task.
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Two years after joining the intelligence community's 'second circle', France's prison intelligence service, the SNRP, is in the market for data-gathering technology. However companies in the sector are not queuing up to work for it.
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