European Union trade chief Maros Sefcovic said the bloc hopes to reach free trade agreements with Malaysia and two other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations before the 50th anniversary of EU-ASEAN relations in 2027.

Sefcovic outlined the timeline with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the European official said in Kuala Lumpur, where the ASEAN meetings of economic ministers are taking place.

“So we’ve been telling to the prime minister how hard we are working on our free trade agreement and then we hope the next year we could conclude it,” Sefcovic said. “And his question was, why next year we still have quite time, quite some time until the end of the year.”

The EU has ramped up negotiations with countries including the Philippines and Thailand as it has sought new trade deals to diversify away from the US amid President Donald Trump’s tariff war. It has intensified talks with India and concluded negotiations with the South American bloc Mercosur.

On Tuesday, Sefcovic signed a trade deal with Indonesia in Bali, which will eliminate tariffs on most goods traded between the two countries. The agreement is expected to be fully implemented by January 2027.

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The EU and Malaysia resumed negotiations on a free trade agreement this year. The Southeast Asian nation paused its negotiations with the bloc in 2012 over what officials said was unfair treatment of its palm oil and other products in the negotiations.

Sefcovic will also meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer this week in Kuala Lumpur to try and restart stalled talks to lower tariffs on steel and aluminum exports.