Draconian security measures will be in place for an event on Sunday morning in north-central Athens that will be addressed by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

The event, with characteristics of an early campaign Edi Rama rally, aims to attract Albanian nationals residing in the greater Athens-Piraeus area to the Galatsi Christmas Theater, with organizers promising a concert either before or after the controversial Albanian leaders speaks to supporters.

The Mitsotakis government has gone out of its way to emphasize that Rama’s visit to Athens is strictly private, with PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis set to travel to Ankara on Monday for an official visit.

Bilateral relations between Athens and the Rama administration have been soured by the Beleri affair in the neighboring country. Official Greece has pointed to a “sham trial” and a “judicial conspiracy” in first keeping Himare mayor-elect Fredi Beleri incarcerated and then convicted of vote-buying on flimsy and possibly fabricated evidence.

Rama is expected to arrive in Athens on Sunday morning, before addressing the rally.

Greek Police (EL.AS) units are expected to scour the venue a day before the event and then secure the site, in line with the procedures followed for a visit by a foreign head of state. The Galatsi venue now hosts theatrical and musical events but was originally built as an indoor arena to host the table tennis and rhythmic gymnastics competitions during the 2004 Olympic Games of Athens.

A heavy police presence, numbering up to 1,000, is expected in and around the venue.