Hong Kong and France have signed an agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons which allows prisoners to serve out their sentences in their homeland, a government press release said Friday.

This is the 11th transfer of sentenced persons agreement Hong Kong has signed with other jurisdictions.

It will come into force on the first day of the second month after both sides have notified each other in writing that their respective requirements for entry into force of the agreement have been met.

After that, Hong Kong residents imprisoned in France may apply to serve the remainder of their sentences in Hong Kong, and vice versa.

The agreement was signed Thursday in Paris by the Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic & Trade Affairs to the European Communities Duncan Pescod and French Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Director for Asia and Oceania Herve Ladsous.

The transfer of sentenced persons to their place of origin, by returning them to an environment free of language and cultural barriers and where their friends and relatives can visit regularly, helps in their rehabilitation, the Security Bureau said, adding it is the government's policy to facilitate such transfers between Hong Kong and other places.

Source: Xinhua