1954 Geneva Conference left Geneva on May 3 and was replaced by his deputy Walter Bedell Smith. The State of Vietnam refused to attend the negotiations until Bidault wrote to Bảo Đại, assuring him that any agreement would not partition Vietnam. Bidault opened the conference on May 8 by proposing a cessation of hostilities, a ceasefire in place, a release of prisoners, and a disarming of irregulars, despite the French surrender at Điện Biên Phủ the previous day in northwestern Vietnam. On May 10, Phạm Văn Đồng, the leader of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) delegation set out their position, proposing a
Geneva Agreement (1966) Guyana" (and since 1970 "Cooperative Republic of Guyana"), date from which the new State becomes part of the agreement as a sovereign and independent country along with the United Kingdom and Venezuela, although it totally substitutes the United Kingdom in the coversations with Venezuela regarding the boderline disagreement The Geneva Agreement is a transitory agreement to come to a definitive solution, many define it as an "agreement to reach an agreement" and although in the Venezuelan interpretation invalidates the 1899 award, the "status quo" that it derived is maintained. Therefore, the area under complaint is under the authority of the