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This annual meeting is the perfect place for top diplomats to achieve their goals, both bilaterally and multilaterally, in front of heads of governments and ministers from 192 countries.

The main issues on the agenda are the food and energy crises as well as climate change, though they may be overshadowed by the US financial crisis and the Georgia conflict.

The Thai delegation may have little to do with the main agenda, but it is the meetings on the sidelines that really matter.

Over and above all that, Thailand as the current chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), needs to call an informal meeting of the group's foreign ministers on Monday to discuss various issues, including preparations for the December summit to be held in Bangkok.

After this meeting, Sompong, as the group's chairperson, is scheduled to lead other Asean ministers to a luncheon with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Now this will no ordinary lunch as he would need to discuss |with the UN chief about the Asean-UN summit due to be held back to back with the Asean summit.

Besides Asean, Thailand also needs to attend another meeting on the sidelines - of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD). The ACD seems to be a forgotten initiative, but Thailand must pay special attention to it because it was the brainchild of former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai during deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's time.

If Sompong manages to arrive in New York before Saturday, he would have to attend the meeting of the UN "Group of Friends" on Burma. Though the junta-governed country has become a global issue, Thailand as an immediate neighbour has to be actively involved to end the political stalemate in Burma.

The UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, might not be able to start a political dialogue between the junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but he is the only card the international community has in hand.

As long as Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has no new ideas about dealing with Burma, Sompong will need to play along with the "friends" of Gambari.

Apart from all this, Thailand faces critical issues with Cambodia over the border dispute in areas near Preah Vihear, Ta Muen Thom and Ta Kwai temples. Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, who will also be in New York for the UN and Asean meetings, is waiting to follow up on the issue.

Thailand and Cambodia have locked horns over the Hindu temples and the border since July after Preah Vihear was listed as a World Heritage Site and there was a military stand-off in the area.

Former foreign minister Tej Bunnag tried to settle the conflict using the existing bilateral mechanisms, including the Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC), but the mechanisms have yet to start working.

Sompong and his Cambodian counterpart will be required to brief Asean on their progress in settling the problems as Phnom Penh had brought the issue to the grouping's attention during the formal ministerial meeting, held in Singapore in July.

It is important for the new Thai foreign minister to know that Cambodia plans to bring the issue to the attention of the UN Security Council, and even the General Assembly, if they see a chink in the Thai delegation's armour, an official at the Foreign Ministry has warned.

So, as Sompong takes on his new role, he must realise that he will have lots of challenges, especially those mentioned above, to deal with immediately.