A planned leadership meeting between Taiwan and its African allies may be held in Taiwan, Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang said Monday but noted that the plan won't be settled before discussions between the two sides.

Huang made the remarks in response to media inquiries on recent news reports saying that President Chen Shui-bian may visit Africa in March for the planned summit. "So far, the president has no overseas travel plans for March and the planned Taiwan-Africa summit may be held in Taiwan," Huang said.

Leaders of five African allies -- Burkina Faso, the Republic of Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, the Kingdom of Swaziland, and the Republic of The Gambia -- have all said they would be delighted to come to Taiwan for the meeting, Huang said, adding Taiwan has the proper soft- and hardware facilities to host such an international event, and that his ministry is currently working to come up with a plan for the Taiwan to host the summit.

Asked about a news report that said Saint Lucia -- a Caribbean island-state -- might sever its diplomatic ties with China after the Chinese New Year festival, Huang declined to make a comment, saying only that Taiwan will spare no efforts to make new allies in its drive to expand its foreign relations.