The North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) was established under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and came formally into being on Thursday 2 December 1999. The role of the Council is to bring together those with executive responsibilities in Northern Ireland and the Irish government to develop consultation, co-operation and action on an all-island and cross-border basis on matters of mutual interest. The NSMC meets in Plenary session twice a year with the Northern Ireland representatives led by the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and the Irish government led by the Taoiseach. THe NSMC also meets in sectoral formats on a regular basis with each side represented by an appropriate minister. The Northern Minister is always accompanied by a Minister of the other tradition. All NSMC decisions are by agreement between both sides.

Under the NSMC, six new North/South Implementation Bodies, established by international agreement between the British and Irish governments, came into being on 2 December 1999. These Bodies are: Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission, IntertradeIreland, Safefood, Special EU Programmes Body, Waterways Ireland and the North/South Language Body. A publicly owned limited company, Tourism Ireland, has also been established to market the island of Ireland internationally. An initial six areas have been identified for co-operation between existing government departments and other bodies, North and South. Effectively, common policies and approaches in these areas will be agreed in the NSMC but implemented seperately in each jurisdiction. The areas agreed as suitable for initial co-operation relate to aspects of transport, agriculture, education, health, environment and tourism.

The NSMC operated on a 'care and maintenance' basis between November 2002 and May 2007 during the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Joint secretariat of the NSMC, based in Armagh, provides support to the NSMC and is staffed by members of the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the Irish Civil Service.