New Zealand concludes negotiations to form govt

"The parties are now going through their respective party processes for final sign-off and we expect that process to be completed this evening," said a joint statement issued by leaders of the three parties, National's Christopher Luxon, ACT's David Seymour and NZ First's Winston Peters."Subject to agreement by all parties, a signing ceremony will take place tomorrow at Parliament," Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.The formal signing will be followed by the announcement of the new Cabinet lineup and ministerial responsibilities so as to "get this country moving forward", Luxon told media.The National Party won the general election on October 14, with the Labour Party to step down after six years in office.However, with no party winning a majority of seats, the formation of a new government depended on the outcome of inter-party negotiations to form a coalition government.--IANSksk/

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