The Geneva peace conference ended 60 years ago, leading to the signingof an agreement that put an end to the war and restored peace inIndochina, including Vietnam, and leaving valuable lessons thatremain practical to Vietnam’s diplomatic sector today.
In his article on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Genevaagreement, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minhcame up with five lessons learnt from the Geneva conference.
The first is the lesson on regarding national interests as the goal and the highest principle in external affairs.
At the Geneva conference, Vietnam’s diplomacy, which not yet fullydeveloped, made its presence, for the first time, at a complexmultilateral negotiation forum that was dominated by world big players.The sector’s staff encountered the relations of cooperation andconfrontation between the major powers and that between big and smallcountries, as well as calculations of interests by the participatingcountries.
Going through 75 negotiation days thatconsisted of 23 retreat meetings and 8 plenary meetings and numerousother diplomatic activities, Vietnamese diplomats were deeply aware ofsecuring independence, sovereignty, unification and territorialintegrity as the top interest and the fundamental goal at theconference.
The agreement, signed in Geneva,Switzerland, in 1954 during the conference, is the first internationaldocument acknowledging the independence, sovereignty, unification andterritorial integrity of Vietnam as well as Laos and Cambodia.
The second is the lesson on maintaining independence self-reliance in external affairs, according to Minh.
The Geneva conference was held under the initiative of big players,which, for their sake, sought all means to pressure and induce Vietnamto accept a solution favouring them. The Democratic Republic of Vietnamtook part in the conference as the winner of the Dien Bien Phu battleand clearly identified its negotiation goal. However, the delegation’sspecific steps relating to negotiation plans, the starting and endingtiming of negotiations, and collaboration between tasked forces duringthe negotiating course had always been intervened by powerful countries.The absence of essential communication devices at the time also posed adisadvantage. In making decisions, the Vietnamese delegation had torely on evaluations from foreign friends, which greatly affected thecountry’s efforts to master the negotiation process and stay firm duringthe conference process.
The third lesson is on theimportance of combining the military, politic and diplomatic fronts tocreate synergy, with the strength on the battlefield viewed as thedecisive factor leading to the triumph at the talks, according to theDeputy PM.
The conference began on May 8, 1954, one day after theDien Bien Phu Victory, which put an end to the French rule in Vietnam.According to Minh, this was a decisive element for the victory to begained at the talks while creating a basis for Vietnam to fight for acomprehensive solution to the Vietnam issue.
The fourth is thelesson on the art of wining victory step by step, Minh said. Wellunderstanding the country’s strength, the benefits of the powerfulcountries, including the Soviet Union and China, and the internationalcontext, Vietnam decided to sign the Geneva agreement with clauses yetreflecting appropriately her victory on the battlefield. The decision isseen as an example of the art of making gradual victory of Vietnam’sdiplomatic sector since its fundamental goal of gaining the powerfulcountries’ respect for Vietnam’s independence, sovereignty, unificationand territorial integrity was reached at the Geneva conference.
The fifth lesson features the close coordination between the struggleson the diplomatic front and public opinion and the gaining of supportof the international community, Minh said.
At theconference, Vietnam’s efforts to strive for peace and gain nationalindependence, unification and territorial integrity met the commonaspiration of the progressive people, including those in France. Throughcontacts with the media and at negotiation rounds, Vietnam made thepublic understand more about its goodwill and plots of the hostileforces that attempted to press the country to accept a disadvantageoussolution. These actions turned the justice of the Vietnamese people’sstruggle into strength, creating positive support for the Vietnamesedelegation at the talks.
Six decades have passed and the globaland regional situation has changed, as has Vietnam’s position. Theglobalisation and international integration have increased mutualdependence among countries. Peace, cooperation and development havebecome the major trend and aspiration. However, the changing world andits complicated impacts have posed challenges for security anddevelopment of Vietnam and her external affairs in particular, Minhsaid.
To conclude, he quoted Party General Secretary Nguyen PhuTrong’s instructions at the 28th diplomacy conference last December assaying that the diplomatic sector should continue keeping its leadingrole in ensuring peaceful, favourable environment for nationalconstruction and defence and realising industrialisation andmodernisation and strategic tasks on socio-economic development with agoal of turning the country into an industrialised one by 2020.-VNA
In his article on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Genevaagreement, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minhcame up with five lessons learnt from the Geneva conference.
The first is the lesson on regarding national interests as the goal and the highest principle in external affairs.
At the Geneva conference, Vietnam’s diplomacy, which not yet fullydeveloped, made its presence, for the first time, at a complexmultilateral negotiation forum that was dominated by world big players.The sector’s staff encountered the relations of cooperation andconfrontation between the major powers and that between big and smallcountries, as well as calculations of interests by the participatingcountries.
Going through 75 negotiation days thatconsisted of 23 retreat meetings and 8 plenary meetings and numerousother diplomatic activities, Vietnamese diplomats were deeply aware ofsecuring independence, sovereignty, unification and territorialintegrity as the top interest and the fundamental goal at theconference.
The agreement, signed in Geneva,Switzerland, in 1954 during the conference, is the first internationaldocument acknowledging the independence, sovereignty, unification andterritorial integrity of Vietnam as well as Laos and Cambodia.
The second is the lesson on maintaining independence self-reliance in external affairs, according to Minh.
The Geneva conference was held under the initiative of big players,which, for their sake, sought all means to pressure and induce Vietnamto accept a solution favouring them. The Democratic Republic of Vietnamtook part in the conference as the winner of the Dien Bien Phu battleand clearly identified its negotiation goal. However, the delegation’sspecific steps relating to negotiation plans, the starting and endingtiming of negotiations, and collaboration between tasked forces duringthe negotiating course had always been intervened by powerful countries.The absence of essential communication devices at the time also posed adisadvantage. In making decisions, the Vietnamese delegation had torely on evaluations from foreign friends, which greatly affected thecountry’s efforts to master the negotiation process and stay firm duringthe conference process.
The third lesson is on theimportance of combining the military, politic and diplomatic fronts tocreate synergy, with the strength on the battlefield viewed as thedecisive factor leading to the triumph at the talks, according to theDeputy PM.
The conference began on May 8, 1954, one day after theDien Bien Phu Victory, which put an end to the French rule in Vietnam.According to Minh, this was a decisive element for the victory to begained at the talks while creating a basis for Vietnam to fight for acomprehensive solution to the Vietnam issue.
The fourth is thelesson on the art of wining victory step by step, Minh said. Wellunderstanding the country’s strength, the benefits of the powerfulcountries, including the Soviet Union and China, and the internationalcontext, Vietnam decided to sign the Geneva agreement with clauses yetreflecting appropriately her victory on the battlefield. The decision isseen as an example of the art of making gradual victory of Vietnam’sdiplomatic sector since its fundamental goal of gaining the powerfulcountries’ respect for Vietnam’s independence, sovereignty, unificationand territorial integrity was reached at the Geneva conference.
The fifth lesson features the close coordination between the struggleson the diplomatic front and public opinion and the gaining of supportof the international community, Minh said.
At theconference, Vietnam’s efforts to strive for peace and gain nationalindependence, unification and territorial integrity met the commonaspiration of the progressive people, including those in France. Throughcontacts with the media and at negotiation rounds, Vietnam made thepublic understand more about its goodwill and plots of the hostileforces that attempted to press the country to accept a disadvantageoussolution. These actions turned the justice of the Vietnamese people’sstruggle into strength, creating positive support for the Vietnamesedelegation at the talks.
Six decades have passed and the globaland regional situation has changed, as has Vietnam’s position. Theglobalisation and international integration have increased mutualdependence among countries. Peace, cooperation and development havebecome the major trend and aspiration. However, the changing world andits complicated impacts have posed challenges for security anddevelopment of Vietnam and her external affairs in particular, Minhsaid.
To conclude, he quoted Party General Secretary Nguyen PhuTrong’s instructions at the 28th diplomacy conference last December assaying that the diplomatic sector should continue keeping its leadingrole in ensuring peaceful, favourable environment for nationalconstruction and defence and realising industrialisation andmodernisation and strategic tasks on socio-economic development with agoal of turning the country into an industrialised one by 2020.-VNA
