Matsuura took the opportunity to thank the Croatian president for the organisation of a similar summit in Opatija last year, stressing the importance of such meetings.
Mesic said that "cultural diversities unite rather than divide" and that they act as "a lever in European integration."
Croatian Culture Minister Bozo Biskupic, who was also attending the summit, invited Matsuura to a conference of culture ministers due to take place in Zadar in September.
Matsuura showed great interest in the Underwater Archaeology Centre, which is to be opened in Zadar in July and which Biskupic said should become UNESCO's centre for the Mediterranean.
Mesic also held separate bilateral meetings with Presidents Filip Vujanovic of Montenegro, Branko Crvenkovski of Macedonia and Boris Tadic of Serbia.