(VOVworld) – The signing of the Geneva Agreement in 1954 was a diplomatic victory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. This agreement was signed after 75 days of negotiations, which included 31 sessions and many sideline bilateral and multilateral meetings. Tran Viet Phuong, a former member of the Vietnamese government delegation to the Geneva Conference, said: “It is important to identify the forces that attempt to infringe our sovereignty. Our chief negotiator was well aware of that during the negotiation process. We were very sober and persistent to gain national independence and sovereignty.”

Linguistics Professor Anatoly Sokolov from Russia’s Academy of Science said the signing of the Geneva Agreement on July 20^th, 1954 opened a new chapter in Vietnam’s struggle for freedom and national unification: “The Geneva Agreement helped to end the war in Indochina. It provided an international legal foundation to end French colonial rule in Indochina. It asserted Vietnam’s equal position in the international arena and that Vietnam had sufficient rights and responsibilities to take part in international activities. It showed colonized nations that international negotiation was the best way to resolve conflicts for freedom, democracy, and national independence. The Geneva Agreement marked a new level of development in international relations. It was evidence that struggles must be based on people’s interests, peace, security, and democracy."

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan said the negotiation experience remains valid in today’s national construction and defense: “What remains unchanged its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have sacrificed a lot to win that recognition but unfortunately in this complicated world many countries have violated commitments to respecting our independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Therefore, we should be vigilant and use peaceful measures and diplomacy to protect our independence and sovereignty in this situation.”

The French-Vietnamese preliminary agreement in 1946, the Paris Agreement in 1973 and the Geneva Agreement in 1954 were the 3 most important diplomatic documents in Vietnam’s resistance wars against French colonialists and US imperialists.