CHONGQING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of Region Meeting opened in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Wednesday.

Chinese delegates and more than 130 overseas delegates from member states of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan, and observer states of Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia are in Chongqing for the meeting.

Sherali Saidamir Jonon, Deputy Secretary-General of the SCO Secretariat, said the meeting is expected to advance dialogue and deepen exchange between cities in commerce, trade, culture and tourism.

The theme of the meeting, sponsored by the Chongqing Municipal People's Government and the SCO Secretariat, is "Upholding Openness and Inclusiveness for New Opportunities of the SCO Regional Cooperation".

A slew of cooperative documents are scheduled to be signed on Wednesday.

Trade between Chongqing and the SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners reached 24.7 billion yuan (about 3.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, up 20 percent year on year.