Visiting prisoners, assisting lost travellers and distressed expats. Consular work is often considered the ugly duckling of the foreign services, far away from the negotiating tables and corridors of power. Still, the duties of the consuls also include dramatic crises evacuations, such as the recent dramatic extractions of diplomats and foreign nationals from Sudan.

Ian Kemish has a rich career in the the Australian Foreign Service, including as head of the consular service. His experiences from the diplomatic frontline have resulted in the book ‘The Consul’.

In this episode of The World Stage, Ian Kemish and NUPI’s Halvard Leira unpack the many-faceted and increasingly important role of consular work.