The first meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council will take place in Armagh on Monday. The council will oversee the work of the six North-South implementation bodies as part of the Belfast Agreement.
All Irish Government Ministers and all Ministers from the new Northern Ireland Executive, apart from the two DUP members, are expected to attend.
The main item on the agenda will be to agree a detailed memorandum of procedure for future ministerial meetings and briefings provided for in the Belfast Agreement.
The location and staffing of the implementation bodies headquarters, including sub-offices, will also be decided. It is expected that the locations will be split between both sides of the Border.
A timetable of work is to be agreed among the ministers with responsibilities for the six areas of co-operation.
The council will have overall responsibility for developing consultation, co-operation and action within the island of Ireland on all matters of mutual interest and, according to the Belfast Agreement, will "bring together those with executive responsibilities in Northern Ireland and the Irish Government".
The council will meet twice a year in plenary session with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, in attendance. Other meetings at appropriate ministerial level will be organised on "a regular and frequent basis", according to the Agreement.
All council decisions will be by agreement between the two sides.
The implementation bodies will be effective executive agencies, with an all-island or cross-Border remit. The agreed bodies are: inland waterways, trade and business development, food safety promotion, language promotion, special EU programmes, and Irish Lights Commission. As well as these bodies, six areas have been identified for further co-operation under existing mechanisms: education, transport, agriculture, health, environment and tourism.