Beijing, June 25 - Former International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Juan Antonio Samaranch said bringing Olympics to Beijing is one of the two important decisions he made during his tenure.

The 87-year-old Spaniard declared this in a speech at an annual international Olympic study seminar hosted by the Humanistic Olympics Studies Center of Renmin University of China. Samaranch also received an honorary professor award from the school.

"I'm an old friend of your country," he said, addressing mostly university students and the media. "I first visited China in 1978 and since then I consider myself a very good friend of China." He went on to say, "I am sure the 2008 Olympics will be the best in Olympic history," which received warm applause from the audience.

The other big decision Samaranch referred to was when Hungarian Jacques Rogge was picked as his successor.

Former Chinese Olympic Committee president He Zhenliang was also at the ceremony.

Working for 14 years under Samaranch as IOC vice president, He praised Samaranch for the role he played in connecting China to the international Olympic family.

"Mr. Samaranch contributed a lot in bringing China back the Olympic family," He explained. "He deftly solved the status problem which prevented both sides of the Taiwan Straits from competing simultaneously in Olympics for more than 30 years.

Former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch stands next to the oil portrait of him. [Fang Xuan/chinadaily.com.cn]

When the 2000 Olympics was awarded to Sydney, He said Samaranch thought it was a regret which he owed to China and that it could compare with when he failed to bring the Olympics back to Athens, the movement's cradle, on its 100-year anniversary.

At the ceremony, Samaranch also received a bouquet from former gymnast and Olympic champion Mo Huilan and a huge black and white oil portrait painted by a professor of the university.