Geneva Agreement holds great military, political significance: French scholar
With the Geneva Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Vietnam signed on July 21, 1954, Vietnam achieved victory both militarily and politically in its long struggle against the French colonialists, according to a French scholar.
The ship Djiring carrying French troops leaves Sau Kho wharf (Hai Phong) to the South on May 13, 1955, in accordance with the Geneva Agreement. The North was completely liberated. (File photo: VNA)
Paris (VNA) - With the Geneva Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Vietnam signed on July 21, 1954, Vietnam achieved victory both militarily and politically in its long struggle against the French colonialists, according to a French scholar.
Eric Coudray, one of the many French citizens who remain interested in the final battle of the French expeditionary army, has highlighted the historical significance and importance of the agreement to the Indochina War, stressing that it contributed to ending the nine-year-long war in Indochina.
The defeat of France at the Dien Bien Phu Battle accelerated the signing of the agreement, demonstrating to the French that their war could not be won and that they needed to sit for negotiations, he added.
The scholar said that this agreement was decisive for the first Indochina War, compelling nations to recognise the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam) which they had previously denied, and requiring France's expeditionary troops to withdraw completely from northern Vietnam by May 16, 1955, and to leave Vietnam entirely by 1956.
According to Coudray, although the agreement resulted in the division of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people's struggle was recognised and admired by people around the world, particularly by nations fighting for their independence at that time.
This was also the first time in history that Vietnam's fundamental national rights—independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity—were affirmed and acknowledged, serving as an important foundation for the Vietnamese people to continue their struggle and ultimately achieve national reunification later on, he said.
ꦫ Regarding the Geneva Agreement's role in the two resistance wars of Vietnam against French colonialism and American imperialism, Coudray stated that the agreement marked the true beginning of France's decolonisation and boosted the spirit of leaders of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in their just struggle for independence, and the revolutionary war strategy./.
The signing of the Geneva Agreement on Indochina 70 years ago marked an important milestone in the history of the world in general and Vietnam in particular, according to David Fernandez Puyana, Ambassador, Permanent Observer of UN University for Peace (UPEACE) to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defence and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) on July 19 co-organised a scientific seminar entitled "70 years of the Geneva Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Vietnam" (July 21, 1954 - 2024).
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Argentina (PCA), Jorge Kreyness has emphasised that the negotiation and signing of the Geneva Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Vietnam (July 21, 1954-2024) on July 21, 1954 is not only an important milestone and a victory in the national liberation struggle of the Vietnamese people but also a historic event and an example for other countries around the world to follow.
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