The Croatian president was greeted in Belgrade by President Tadić in front of the Palace of Serbia, together with Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić and Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Djelić.
After the welcoming ceremony, Josipović and Tadić started discussing ways of improving cooperation between the two countries and resolving open issues.
The two presidents told a news conference later on that they each supported the European integration of the other country.
The presidents also said the issues that were standing in the way of better relations between the two countries included those of refugee returns in Croatia, the border dispute between Serbia and Croatia, the question of missing persons, minority issues and the protection of minority rights.
As for Croatia's genocide suit and Serbia's counter genocide suit before the International Court of Justice (see 'Background'), Tadić said he supported an out-of-court settlement, while Josipović said the genocide charges were the result of certain problems and if they could be solved out of court, then "all the better for that".
Both presidents said they generally supported the creation of a regional football league featuring teams from both countries.
Later that day, Tadić and his Croatian counterpart Josipović attended a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina, a party representing ethnic Croats from the province.
A central aspect of Serbia's policy is that every citizen has the right to his or her own identity and culture and no-one can question this in any way, Tadić said at the celebration.
The Croatian president remarked that "both countries on are the right road to solving their problems," saying that although not all of the problems of the past had been solved, "today's policies and today's governments" were not to be blamed for them.
"There is no longer any reason to look back at the past," Josipović said.
"Croatia is en route to the EU and this is our chief objective, but at the same time, it is in our strategic interest for every country in South-East Europe to get there as soon as possible, and we will aid this process using all the means at our disposal," Josipović said.
Josipovic thanked the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina for its huge contribution to preserving the identity of Croats living there, adding that the local Croat community could expect assistance from both states in the future.
Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia, located in the northern part of the country bordering Hungary and Croatia. Vojvodina prides itself on its multi-ethnic and multi-cultural identity and has a number of mechanisms for the promotion of minorities.
