North/South Ministerial Council

The North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) (Irish: An Chomhairle Aireachta Thuaidh-Theas, Ulster-Scots: North South Meinisterlie Council) is a body established under the Good Friday Agreement to co-ordinate activity and exercise certain governmental powers across the whole island of Ireland.

The Council takes the form of meetings between ministers from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and is responsible for twelve policy areas. Six of these areas are the responsibility of corresponding North/South Implementation Bodies. The body is based in the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland.

The North/South Ministerial Council and the Northern Ireland Assembly are "mutually inter-dependent" institutions: one cannot exist without the other. When the Northern Ireland Assembly is suspended, responsibility for areas of co-operation fall to the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.