US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell has told the World Economic Forum the US is committed not only to fighting terrorists, but to battling the poverty.
The 3,000 delegates have kicked off the five-day meeting in New York as hordes of police on Manhattan's streets braced for unrest that never materialised.
Forum participants have painted the September 11 attacks as a global wake-up call and encouraged efforts against scourges that have bred anger towards wealthy countries.
Mr Powell said: "We have to make sure that as we fight terrorism using military means and legal means and law enforcement and intelligence means ... we also have to put hope back in the hearts of people."
"We have to show people who might move in the direction of terrorism that there is a better way."
This year for the first time, delegates at the 32nd annual forum gave up their usual lofty retreat in the Swiss Alps to go to terrorism-shattered New York, pledging to turn their attention to the world's needs instead of its balance sheets.
The move from Davos to New York was meant to show sympathy for the US city - and to improve the image of the forum, often seen as a pricey retreat for rich businessmen.
"This is a defining moment in history," Bono said during a plenary session. "There is an emergency in the world, and I don't think that's hyperbole."
PA