HANOI, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states Thursday approved a number of documents and measures in response to the COVID-19 epidemic on the first day of the ongoing 37th ASEAN Summit, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Notably, the bloc's leaders approved the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework and its Implementation Plan, which will serve as the community's exit strategy to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the joint efforts to respond to the epidemic, the leaders also adopted the ASEAN Declaration on an ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework and the ASEAN Strategic Framework on Public Health Emergencies, the news agency reported, adding that the leaders also announced the establishment of a regional reserve of medical supplies and agreed with the plan to set up a regional center on public health emergencies and emerging diseases.

These measures are expected to help ASEAN countries enhance their competitiveness, restore the disrupted supply chains and services, and gradually recover in a sustainable way in the middle and long terms, the news agency said.

The 37th ASEAN Summit and relevant meetings are underway on Nov. 12-15 via video conferences under the chair of Vietnam.