The occasion of the visit to one of the four villages in Slovakia populated by ethnic Croats was the 15th anniversary of the Croat Cultural Alliance, the umbrella organisation of some 3,000 Croats in that central European country.
The two presidents also visited the new facilities of the Croat centre, the building of which was partially financed by the Croatian and Slovak governments.
President Mesic said the Croat national community in Slovakia was a proof that minorities were not a problem and a burden but a connection between two countries.
President Gasparovic said the Croat national minority was successfully nurturing its cultural heritage, adding that it was also a bridge connecting the Slovak and Croat peoples.
At the end of the first day of his visit to Slovakia, Mesic visited the Croatian Embassy where he attending the launching of a book by an specialist in Croatian and Slavic studies, Jan Jankovic of Slovakia.
On Friday, Mesic is scheduled to meet Slovak Prime Minister Mikolas Dzurinda and Bratislava mayor Andrej Dukovsky.
The Croatian president will end his trip to Slovakia with a visit to Trnava where he is expected to hold talks with local officials.