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| Comrade Nguyen Xuan Thang, Politburo member, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council and other leaders attended the scientific conference '70 years of the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam'. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
Attending the workshop were comrade Nguyen Xuan Thang, Politburo member, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, leaders and former leaders of the Party, State and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leaders of departments, ministries, research agencies, scientists, representatives of families of members of the delegation negotiating, signing and implementing the Geneva Agreement.
The workshop “70 years of the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam” aims to highlight the historical stature and epochal significance of the Geneva Agreement for the cause of national liberation of the Vietnamese people and the people of the world; at the same time, to summarize valuable lessons that are still valuable for the cause of national construction, development and defense.
This is also an opportunity for delegates to acknowledge and honor the great contributions of the Vietnamese diplomatic sector, including the contributions of historical witnesses who negotiated, signed and brought about the victory of the Geneva Conference, opening a new stage for the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.
The handbook contains many valuable lessons on foreign affairs.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son emphasized that exactly 70 years ago, on July 21, 1954, the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam was signed in Geneva (Switzerland) and became an important historical milestone in the cause of national liberation and reunification of our people.
In this first participation, Vietnamese diplomacy affirmed the spirit, mettle, and intelligence of a nation with thousands of years of civilization; with an indomitable will to protect independence; imbued with the quintessence of national culture and the ideology, style, and art of Ho Chi Minh's diplomacy.
The Minister shared that research on the Geneva Conference has always attracted the attention of politicians, diplomats, military and historical researchers at home and abroad over the past 70 years.
Many scientific seminars and workshops on the Geneva Agreement have been held, and each seminar and workshop helps us gain new perspectives, new discoveries, and new, valuable research results on the Geneva Agreement.
Time has passed, historical witnesses are almost gone, this Workshop was organized very timely, through frank, scientific and objective exchanges to unify our internal awareness of the role and significance of the Agreement, on that basis, propose initiatives and lessons on applying experience from the process of negotiating, signing and implementing the Agreement in the new context, meeting the requirements of today's foreign affairs practice.
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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son delivered the opening speech at the scientific conference '70 years of the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam'. Photo: Tuan Anh) |
At today's Workshop, on the basis of thoroughly grasping the guidance and direction of Comrade Nguyen Xuan Thang, Minister Bui Thanh Son hopes that the presentations of agencies and researchers at the Workshop, from a historical perspective, will contribute to deepening the significance and historical stature of the Geneva Agreement.
The workshop is also an opportunity for us to review, summarize and evaluate the valuable lessons of the Geneva Conference and the 1954 Geneva Agreement for the cause of national construction and defense.
The workshop also gathered many quality articles, demonstrating the interest and enthusiasm of agencies, scholars and veteran officials on the process of negotiating, signing and implementing the Agreement and were compiled into the Workshop Proceedings, serving as valuable research and reference materials.
The process of negotiating, signing and implementing the Geneva Agreement is a handbook containing many valuable lessons on foreign affairs, demonstrating the unique identity of the Vietnamese school of foreign affairs and diplomacy, which has been inherited, creatively applied and developed in the negotiation, signing and implementation of the 1973 Paris Agreement later, as well as in building, developing the country and defending the Fatherland today.
Summarizing historical lessons from the process of negotiating, signing and implementing the 1954 Geneva Agreement has very practical significance, contributing to the research, construction and completion of the theoretical and methodological basis for foreign affairs and diplomacy in the Ho Chi Minh era as well as the construction, completion and implementation of the Party's foreign policy in the new stages of development of the country.
5 great foreign policy lessons
Speaking at the Conference, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Politburo member, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council affirmed that the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam was signed, opening up a great victory ending the 9-year long resistance war against the French colonialists of the Vietnamese people, becoming a brilliant milestone of the young revolutionary diplomacy under the leadership of the Party.
The great historical significance of the Geneva Agreement is clearly shown in President Ho Chi Minh's Appeal after the successful Geneva Conference on July 22, 1954: "Our diplomacy has achieved great victory... The French government has recognized the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of our country, recognized the withdrawal of French troops from our country,...".
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| Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Politburo member, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, delivered a speech at the Scientific Conference. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
The Vietnam Workers' Party affirmed: "Achieving the above-mentioned Agreement is a great victory of our people and army... also a victory of the world's peace-loving people, of the people of friendly countries... of the French people... is a defeat of aggressive colonialism... is a defeat of American imperialism".
Talking about the significance of victory and the new situation of the Vietnamese revolution brought about by the Geneva Agreement, President Ho Chi Minh commented: "If before we only had forests and mountains and night, now we have rivers, seas and day."
Comrade Nguyen Xuan Thang said that 70 years have passed but the historical significance of the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam remains intact with extremely valuable lessons, vividly reflecting the principles, mottos, art of foreign affairs, maturity and great contributions of Vietnamese diplomacy to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation; shining the wish of President Ho Chi Minh for "a peaceful, unified, independent, democratic and prosperous Vietnam".
Those are the lessons.
First, maintain and strengthen the leadership of the Party. The victory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Negotiation Delegation at the Geneva Conference was the result of the revolutionary line, the line of all-people, comprehensive, long-term resistance, relying mainly on one's own strength, and the correct foreign policy under the wise leadership of the Party Central Committee and President Ho Chi Minh.
That is one of the most eloquent proofs of the victory of the flag of national independence associated with socialism; of the flag of justice and righteousness that President Ho Chi Minh firmly affirmed in the Declaration of Independence giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam: "Vietnam has the right to enjoy freedom and independence, and in fact has become a free and independent country."
It is also the victory of the indomitable will and indomitable spirit of the entire Vietnamese people responding to and following President Ho Chi Minh's Call for National Resistance, with the determination: "We would rather sacrifice everything than lose our country and become slaves."
Second, promote the combined strength, closely combining the political, military and diplomatic fronts. The Geneva Agreement is the result of the persistent struggle of our army and people, from the Viet Bac victory in the Fall - Winter of 1947 to the Fall - Winter Border Campaign in 1950 and the Winter - Spring Strategic Offensive in 1953-1954, culminating in the Dien Bien Phu Victory.
The developments of the Geneva Conference reflected the reality of the comparison of forces on the battlefield, when our army and people stepped up offensive activities to narrow the enemy's occupation area in coordination with diplomatic struggles, forcing the French colonialists to sit at the negotiating table in a losing position.
During the resistance war against the US to save the country, the motto of "fighting while negotiating" was creatively applied and developed during the negotiation process at the Paris Conference (1965-1973), with a close combination of military and political struggles with diplomatic struggles, taking the results of operations on the battlefield as the basis for winning at the negotiating table.
As President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: “Real strength is the gong and diplomacy is the sound. The louder the gong, the louder the sound.” From that profound awareness, in the period of national renewal and integration, our Party has proposed a policy of closely combining socio-economic development with national defense, security and foreign affairs; considering promoting foreign affairs as a regular and important task; promoting the pioneering role of foreign affairs together with strengthening national defense and security to protect the Fatherland early and from afar, protecting the country when it is not yet in danger, creating a peaceful and stable environment for rapid and sustainable national development.
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| Delegates attending the scientific conference '70 years of the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam'. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
Third, maintain independence and autonomy; ensure national and ethnic interests above all and first. This is a principled lesson of Vietnamese diplomacy, practiced and creatively applied by outstanding diplomats in the Ho Chi Minh era, throughout the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.
Although the Geneva Conference was organized on the initiative and was subject to many impacts and pressures from major countries with different interests and goals, with the position of the victor, the Negotiation Delegation of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam both upheld the spirit of international solidarity, raised the flag of justice, and wished for peace and an end to the war; and resolutely maintained a principled stance, as President Ho Chi Minh said: "The French Government sincerely respects the true independence of Vietnam" during the negotiation process leading to the signing of the Geneva Agreement.
Inheriting and developing that lesson, today, our Party has put forth the correct policy: "Continue to implement the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, and diversification"; ensure the highest national interests on the basis of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, equality, cooperation, and mutual benefit.
Fourth is to thoroughly grasp the motto of “using the unchangeable to respond to all changes”. The process of negotiating and signing the Geneva Agreement showed that the unchangeable principle is to maintain independence, self-reliance, and persistently fight for a peaceful, independent, and unified Vietnam; responding to all changes is to be flexible in strategy in specific situations to gain victory step by step, in each part, leading to complete victory.
The creative application and practice of the motto "unchangeable, adaptable to all changes", "persistence in principles, flexibility in strategies" of Vietnamese diplomacy in the period of renovation is a vivid expression of the foreign policy imbued with the identity of "Vietnamese bamboo", as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong summarized, that is: firm roots, strong trunk, flexible branches; soft, clever but very resilient, decisive; flexible, creative but very brave, steadfast, courageous.
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| Delegates attending the scientific conference '70 years of the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam'. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
Fifth, promote the strength of the people and the great national unity bloc, raise high the banner of justice, combine national strength with the strength of the times. The historic victory of Dien Bien Phu and the victory at the negotiating table at the Geneva Conference were victories of the great strength of the people and the great national unity bloc of Vietnam, with the sympathy, support and assistance of international friends, including the progressive people of France and the colonial countries.
During the negotiations at the Geneva Conference, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam always attached importance to propaganda work and took advantage of international public opinion to promote a just stance for peace, cooperation and progress of humanity; demonstrate the goodwill and aspiration for independence of the Vietnamese people, expose the plot to sabotage the Conference and prolong negotiations of the French colonialists and American imperialists.
The profound lessons learned in the struggle for public opinion at the Geneva Conference were drawn and promoted during the negotiations at the Paris Conference, gaining the sympathy and strong support of the world's people for the revolutionary cause of the Vietnamese people.
Promoting the nation's traditions and valuable lessons of the Vietnamese revolution, today, our Party continues to affirm the viewpoint that "the people are the root", promoting the strength of the people and the great national unity bloc; emphasizing: Vietnam is a friend, a reliable partner and a responsible member of the international community, seeking the sympathy and support of the international community for the cause of innovation, construction, development of the country and firmly protecting the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.
Therefore, comrade Nguyen Xuan Thang suggested that delegates and scientists focus on clarifying and continuing to analyze and affirm that the Geneva Agreement is the pinnacle of victory of Vietnam's revolutionary diplomacy in the resistance war against the French colonialists; Clarifying the stature and significance of the Geneva Agreement for the Vietnamese revolutionary process and the world revolutionary movement; Promoting the values and lessons of the Geneva Agreement, arousing the aspiration to build a rich, democratic, prosperous, civilized, happy country, steadily moving towards socialism...
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