The secretary-general of the United Nations has welcomed Saudi Arabia’s move allowing women to drive in the ultraconservative kingdom beginning next summer, The Washington Post reported.

Antonio Guterres wrote on Twitter early Wednesday: “I welcome Saudi Arabia’s decision to lift the ban on women drivers. An important step in the right direction.”

The kingdom is the only country in the world that bars women from driving. The change came in a royal order reported by state media late Tuesday that takes effect next June.