The First Minister of Wales, the Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM, hosted an extraordinary Summit meeting of the British-Irish Council in Cardiff today. The meeting was attended by Heads of Administration and Ministers from all eight of the Council's Member Administrations: the Irish and UK Governments; the devolved administrations of the Northern Ireland Executive and the Scottish Government; and the Governments of the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. You can read the full Communiqué of the Summit here.

At the start of the meeting the Council took the opportunity to offer their condolences to the people of France following the recent terrorist attacks in Nice and to victims of conflicts around the world.

The Summit meeting had been convened by Council members to consider the outcome of the referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union. Ministers discussed the implications arising for their own administrations and for the Council as a whole. In their discussions, Ministers noted implications in a number of priority areas including: the economy and trade, the Common Travel Area, relations with the EU and the status of all citizens affected by the change.

Ministers also collectively reaffirmed the importance of the Council as a key institution of the 1998 Agreement and reiterated their commitment to work together to promote harmonious and mutually beneficial relationships among the people of these islands. The Council also agreed that an update on developments would be facilitated at the next Council Summit.