BEIJING, May 10. /TASS/. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is involved in addressing issues concerning regional stability and development; it is not a military bloc and thus cannot be compared to NATO, SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming said on Wednesday.

"I would like to emphasize today that the main goal of the SCO is cooperation, and this is fully reflected in the name of our organization. This is why we will never compare the SCO with such organizations as NATO," he said at a press conference devoted to the results of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in India.

He added that the SCO’s efforts are directed toward ensuring peace, security, stability, development and prosperity in the region.

"The SCO is not a political or military bloc," the secretary general reiterated. He noted that the organization has always adhered to the principle of non-alignment as well as the rejection of confrontation and of the targeting of any third parties.

The SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting was held on May 5 in Goa in southwestern India, which is currently chairing the organization.