The 1954 Geneva Agreement: A milestone in Vietnam’s diplomatic history

On the morning of April 25, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presided over the organization of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam (July 21, 1954 – July 21, 2024). The conference is connected to the bridgeheads of all Vietnamese representative agencies abroad.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang emphasized that with the Geneva Agreement, for the first time in history, Vietnam’s basic national rights of independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity have been granted. officially affirmed in an international treaty and recognized and respected by the countries and parties attending the Conference.

The Agreement has brilliantly demonstrated the mentality, bravery and diplomatic identity of Vietnam in the Ho Chi Minh era, strongly affirming the message of a Vietnam that loves peace, values ​​justice and righteousness; have a strong will to protect independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity; ready for friendly cooperation with all countries and peoples in the world.

The event also created great inspiration and encouragement for the national liberation movement across five continents, for independence, freedom, peace, democracy, progress and social justice; and ushered in the collapse of old colonialism around the world.

“The victory of the Geneva Conference is first and foremost thanks to the correct revolutionary policy of the Party under the leadership and skillful guidance of beloved President Ho Chi Minh – the Hero of national liberation, famous world culture,” Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang said.

Along with that, the victory of the Conference is also the crystallization of the resilient, indomitable and persistent fighting spirit of our army and people during 9 years of resistance, culminating in the historic Dien Bien Phu victory.

This is also the result of the solidarity, support, and valuable assistance of Laos, Cambodia, China, the Soviet Union, and other fraternal socialist countries and peace-loving people in the world. including the French people.

According to Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, along with the 1946 Preliminary Agreement and the 1973 Paris Agreement, the 1954 Geneva Agreement is a milestone in the history of Vietnam’s revolutionary diplomacy, bearing deep imprints of ideology, style and Ho Chi Minh’s diplomatic art.

The process of negotiating, signing and implementing the Geneva Agreement is a handbook containing many profound lessons that demonstrate the unique identity of the Vietnamese school of foreign affairs and diplomacy.

This has been inherited, creatively applied and developed in the negotiation, signing and implementation of the 1973 Paris Agreement later as well as in building and developing the country and protecting the Fatherland today.

Sharing at the ceremony, Major General Pham Son Duong said he was fortunate to live with his father, the late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, and Uncle Ho in the Presidential Palace, so he was told stories about revered Uncle Ho. love, including the story of diplomatic lessons at the Geneva Conference.

“My father told me that Uncle Ho was a mature and experienced person. He predicted that Vietnam attending the Geneva Conference would face great pressure, despite the victory at Dien Bien Phu and the transformation in the Government. The French Government and National Assembly are favorable opportunities for us, but the biggest difficulty is the intervention of big countries in the Conference,” Major General Duong said.

Recalling the Party and President Ho Chi Minh’s policy of both fighting and negotiating to end the war and restore peace in Vietnam, Mr. Duong concluded that the Geneva Accords were a synchronous political and military solution. to realize that goal.

“Uncle advised my father, in negotiations to resolutely protect the interests of the nation and people, to be steadfast in principles, flexible in strategies and steps to achieve the goal of forcing France to recognize independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia,” the son of late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong recounted.

Sharing his thoughts at the ceremony, Lao Ambassador to Vietnam Khamphao Ernthavanh emphasized that the signing of the Geneva Agreement on ending the war in Vietnam is an important historical milestone in the long and difficult struggle of the people. people of the three Indochina countries, achieving peace and independence for the Fatherland.

The signing of this Agreement is a great victory. In particular, the French colonialists and the countries participating in the Conference for the first time pledged to respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and not to interfere in the internal affairs of the three Indochina countries.

Ms. Khamphao Ernthavanh affirmed that the lessons of struggle at the Geneva Conference and experiences in the Dien Bien Phu campaign have become a strong torch to lead the revolution, military and political struggle in many campaigns with foreign invaders and invaders. Together, they completely liberated the three Indochina countries in 1975.

“During the past 70 years, the date of signing the Agreement to End Hostilities at the Geneva Conference has remained the same in the work of protecting peace, building and developing the three Indochina countries today,” said Ambassador Khamphao Ernthavanh.