The U.S. State Department is hoping to promote new business in what it calls “transitional democracies” of the Arab nations. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced this week the nation's corporate leaders will arrange talks between investors and new partners in the Middle East. She told the U.S.-Islamic World Forum the meeting will take place at the end of May, under the auspices of the Partners for a New Beginning (PNB) organization, AFP reported. PNB previously developed a “network of public and private partners and programs that deepen economic integration among the countries in North Africa,” Clinton said. She cited a meeting of some 400 North African Arab and ex-pat U.S. Arab business leaders, young entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and leaders held in Algiers in December as an example. A follow-up meeting is planned for later this year in Morocco. However, the region is still largely seeing the effects of the massive upheaval that has toppled governments in Tunisia and Egypt and destabilized several others. This week thousands of university students gathered in Algiers for a protest against the government's education policy. Tuesday's demonstration rapidly turned political, with students calling for the downfall of the government, according to Magharebia . Police officers used truncheons to prevent the mob from reaching the presidential palace. Clinton said the PNB initiative is aimed at creating jobs, training youth and supporting start-ups. Washington hopes to “encourage closer economic integration across the region as well as with the United States, Europe and the rest of the world,” she said. PNB is led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Mukhtar Kent of Coca Cola and Walter Isaacson of the Aspen Institute. Among its members are the chief executive officers of Intel, Cisco, Morgan Stanley and other high-profile firms. The group was formed following President Barack Obama's 2009 Cairo speech.