RIYADH: Global supply chains need to be rethought to reduce the impacts of humanitarian or geopolitical crises, Arab News quoted France’s foreign trade minister, as telling the Future Investment Initiative Forum in Riyadh.

Franck Riester highlighted the health, energy and food sectors, in particular, as areas where the current system is susceptible to fluctuations, such as those caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The minister said the European Union is already seeking to diversify its suppliers in a number of areas, and flagged up closer working with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as part of this.

The GCC will be “good partners” in a post-pandemic world, he said.