The ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries will maintain monetary and financial supportive policies until the recovery is on a firm footing, said ASEAN leaders?in Hanoi?on Friday.

Meanwhile, as market conditions and the economic outlook are improving, member countries need to start working on mechanisms to reverse the financial and monetary stimulus and prepare for orderly unwinding of expansionary policies, said leaders in a joint statement on sustained recovery and development at the 16th ASEAN Summit.

The was issued after the two-day ASEAN summit ended here on Friday. Leaders from ten member countries of the association participated in the summit.

The ASEAN groups Brunei Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

ASEAN's inherent dynamism will help the region sustain its recovery and attain higher economic growth, said leaders in the statement.

At a press conference following the summit, Nguyen Tan Dung, chairman of 16th ASEAN Summit and Vietnamese prime minister, said ASEAN vows to enhance economic links and increase the financial cooperation to achieve regional development and prosperity. "We agreed that the ASEAN connectivity should be increased to support economic links and the community building of the region," said Dung.

The ASEAN connectivity does not only mean links among ASEAN countries in transportation, energy and information technology, but also the facilitation of cross-border trade in goods, investment and tourism within the region, said Dung.

At the end of the two-day summit, ASEAN leaders also approved a statement on joint response to climate change. They committed to taking specific measures to deal with the issue and contribute to global joint efforts to reach an international legally binding agreement on climate change.

A Chairman's Statement was issued on the main outcomes of the summit. In the statement, ASEAN affirmed that member countries will promote green growth including the development of green technology, its application and investment, enhance ASEAN connectivity, and boost the building of ASEAN community based on three pillars namely the political-security, economic and socio- cultural ones.

Prior to the 16th ASEAN summit, there were preparatory meetings among ASEAN foreign ministers, economic ministers and socio- cultural ministers.

The ASEAN foreign ministers signed a protocol on mechanisms to settle disputes within the region, signifying the determination of ASEAN in transforming ASEAN into rules-based organization.

ASEAN finance ministers forcasted that ASEAN's economy is expected to grow by between 4.9 percent and 5.6 percent this year. The bloc's economies grew by 1.5 percent last year.

To reach the aim of building a people-focused community, ASEAN socio and cultural ministers decided to establish the commission responsible for promoting and protecting the rights of women and children, marking a turning point in boosting social welfare and equal development of women and children in the bloc.