DUBAI: UAE’s industry minister said on Monday that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic taught the world several lessons and there is a need to strengthen industrial capabilities and control costs. Sultan Al-Jaber was speaking at the Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit at the Dubai Expo. Al-Jaber focussed on ways to accelerate the recovery from the pandemic. He said the industrial outputs fell mainly during the pandemic, as demands disappeared overnight. Demand is now bouncing back quickly as global manufacturing increased 20 percent in the second quarter of 2021, and the auto industry expanded 50 percent year-on-year. As the global economy comes back to life, the uneven recovery is affecting the supply chain, which can affect future growth, the minister said. “The need today is to focus on diversifying the sources of supply and building companies between the public and private sectors in preparation for the future,” the minister added. "UAE believes in practical and intelligent partnerships, and we have a global infrastructure that qualifies us for that” he said.