The Solomon Islands has opened the door for talks on taking asylum seekers from Australia as part of a regional processing plan.
The possibility has arisen during a visit to the Solomons by Foreign Minister Bob Carr.
Mr Carr says while he did not formally raise the issue with the Prime Minister, it will be discussed with regional leaders in the near future.
SBS Queensland correspondent Stefan Armbruster reports from the Solomons capital, Honiara.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr went to the Solomon Islands to celebrate 10 years of the Australian-led peace keeping mission there.
But Australia's controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea for processing and resettlement has put another issue on the table.
"This country would look at what we are doing with PNG, in terms of the regional resettlement arrangement with interest. It's a regional issue. It might come up, but I'm not here to make any submissions about that or twist any arms."
Australia is looking for more countries to support its plan with Papua New Guinea.
Like PNG, the Solomons is a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees.
Solomons Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo, at a joint press conference with Senator Carr, said his government was open to suggestions.
"These are issues, once it has been proposed, we will give ourselves time to think over it. But what I've said is that we are part of the region, and I'm sure there will be in future, that we may be pressed to consider issues like this. But for the time being we have not discussed that issue."
Solomon Islands opposition leader, and former Prime Minister, Derek Sikua is not impressed.
"My feeling about such a proposal is that is not our priority. Our priority in this country is to resettle the people who are living in the low-lying islands that are being affected by sea-level rise. We have a large population of our citizens that are being affected by sea level rise and that is our priority."
Two years ago, the government offered to host a detention centre on a remote island near Bougainville.
That was swiftly rejected by the Australian government.
Times have changed, and Senator Carr is preparing to meet with regional leaders.
"We stand ready to talk about it with all the nations of the region, some of whom are facing some the problems Australia's got, that's why on August 20, I'll be in Jakarta, at the conference organised by the Indonesians to look at the common challenge we've got of people smuggling and human trafficking."
Share
