The Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) saw fast and stable development in the past year with the city's pillar industries of gaming and tourism having grown by leaps and bounds, Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah said on Tuesday.

Ho said in the sixth year of his administration, all positive elements in the economy and social development have yielded initial effects.

The Chief Executive made remarks while he reviewed the MSAR government's work in the fiscal year of 2005 in his policy address delivered at the Legislative Assembly Tuesday.

He said the practices of the principle of "One country, Two systems" in Macao has entered a new era in the year, during which a more stable society has been witnessed.

In the year 2005, the government's policy priority has been given to the administrative reform and the upgrading of life quality, Ho said.

He said that in the year, the government has pragmatically carried out the administrative reform focusing on boosting the cooperation among government departments and improving the effectiveness of the security forces.

Ho stated that Macao's pillar industries of gaming and tourism have grown by leaps and bounds, as more foreign investments have flooded in and stronger tourist flow has been seen.

He said Macao's economic ties with the Chinese mainland, Portuguese-spoken nations and other countries and regions have been enhanced, adding that the MSAR government has been actively promoting the economic cooperation in the Pan-Pearl River Delta region.

The Chief Executive hailed Macao's successful hosting of the East Asian Games earlier this year, noting that it will hopefully promote Macao's international image.

He acknowledged that there exist social problems in Macao and he called on public servants and all the people in Macao to joint their hands to tackle all difficulties facing them.

(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2005)