Switzerland votes Sunday on a free trade deal with Indonesia but the agreement, which opens up a vast potential market, could slip up over the issue of palm oil imports.
Swiss voters will decide on a free trade agreement with Indonesia on Sunday, with lower tariffs on palm oil imports the main issue in what the polls predict will be a tight referendum.
The Swiss government has allocated grant funding of $65 million over a period of four years to the island nation, in order to promote inclusive and sustainable development.
Human rights defenders on the ground have been drawing attention for many years to the negative consequences of palm oil cultivation for small farmers, indigenous people and the environment.
Campaigners are urging the Swiss government to renegotiate a six-year-old free trade agreement with China to try to improve human rights and labour conditions for its Uighur Muslim minority.
The Swiss Federal Council stated on several occasions that it did not consider its free trade agreement with Morocco to apply to the large part of Western Sahara that is under Moroccan occupation.