Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith is today (August 18) urging the nine Jamaican nationals left stranded in Panama to come forward as the Government seeks clarity from carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Johnson Smith, in an update this afternoon (August 18), indicated that in addition to formal communication with the Republic of Panama, a meeting with Panama’s Ambassador to Jamaica, Dr Lasford Douglas, was held on Monday.

The minister, while not elaborating on the results of the meeting with the Panamanian envoy, outlined that only two of the affected nationals have made contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, after they were denied boarding for their connecting flights over the weekend.

It was not immediately clear from Johnson Smith’s tweets whether the Jamaicans were still in Panama trying to get to The Netherlands or back in the country as previously suggested by her Sunday statement.

Update in full reads: