(ANSA) - BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 13 - The headquarters of the Southeast Europe Transport Community Permanent Secretariat officially opened today in Belgrade. The decision to establish a transport community to foster relationships and interaction between the countries of the Balkan region was made at the summit of the Western Balkans held in Trieste in July 2017 as part of the Berlin Process. In December 2017, in a ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgrade was unanimously chosen to host the organization's Permanent Secretariat. At today's opening ceremony, EU transport commissioner Violeta Bulc gave a speech, along with Serbian premier Ana Brnabic, deputy prime minister and Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlović, and the head of EU delegation to Serbia Sem Fabrizi. "It is a great honor for Belgrade and Serbia," prime minister Brnabic said, emphasizing that the RTC was the first site of an international community to be opened in Serbia. "It is a new chapter in the growth of modern Serbia and modern Western Balkans". According to Minister Mihajlovic, "all the countries of the region will now be closer to the European Union, and the transport community will help us achieve higher standards of living for most citizens of the Western Balkans". (ANSA).