diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 33948f3da30051fda24700528d41161a7c41f65f..306c173a59341e4b959fbc0387dc2638fdf130bc 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -62,6 +62,9 @@ release:
     TWINE_USERNAME: gitlab-ci-token       # Keep username same
     TWINE_PASSWORD: $CI_JOB_TOKEN        # Use PAT stored in GitLab CI/CD Variables
   script:
+    - echo "Setting up Python dependencies..."
+    - source $VIRTUAL_ENV/bin/activate
+    - pip install -r requirements.txt
     - bash make_openapi_client.sh
     - cd backend/python-client            # Navigate to the folder where the package was generated
     - python3 -m venv .venv