King Abdullah II of Jordan (C) and Queen Rania (R) meet with Jack Ma, founder and chairman of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, at the King's Palace in Amman, Jordan, on May 7, 2018. King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday received Jack Ma, the state-run Petra News Agency reported. (Xinhua)

AMMAN, May 7 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday received Jack Ma, founder and chairman of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, the state-run Petra News Agency reported.

At the meeting, the kingdom's investment climate and incentives were reviewed, especially that Jordan has free trade agreements with several countries and that the country is home to qualified human resources.

Also Monday, the Jack Ma Foundation (JMF) announced the first-stage funding of 3 million U.S. dollars to support the mission of the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development (QRF) and its work in the country's educational field.

The grant was announced by Ma during his visit to Amman, according to the statement from the QRF.

JMF General-Secretary, Yu Xiuhong, recognized the challenges confronted by young women, girls, refugees, and students in Jordan's rural areas, expressing her hope that the grant will strengthen the foundation's ability to improve education for these vulnerable groups.

"The vision and leadership of the Queen Rania Foundation to improve the quality of education in Jordan and the region through its world-class and innovative programs are truly inspiring," she said.

"In China, the Jack Ma Foundation focuses on improving the livelihood of rural communities through education and we look forward to learning from and sharing best practices with the Queen Rania Foundation on headmaster and teacher training," said Yu.

The Edraak platform, one of the major programs that the JMF supports, was created to bring free quality learning opportunities to Arabic-speaking children across the region.

It is accessible to more than 100 million children, offering tools and resources for parents and educators in all major subjects.

QRF CEO Haifa Al-Attia thanked JMF, noting that the grant will provide educational opportunities to learners in Jordan and across the Middle East.

"We are extremely grateful for the generous support of the Jack Ma Foundation, which has once again distinguished itself as an invaluable champion of education across the globe," she said.

Queen Rania also accompanied Ma to the King Hussein Business Park, where he joined a group of 20 Jordanian venture capitalists, incubators, and enablers in a closed meeting to discuss the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Jordan.

Ma was an English language teacher for six years before he established the Alibaba group. He runs several programs on rural education in China through JMF.