RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Monday start issuing its first driving licenses towomen in decades, authorities said.

Ten Saudi women swapped their foreign licences for Saudi ones in multiplecities, including the capital Riyadh, as the kingdom prepares to end itsban on June 24.

The move, which follows a government crackdown on women activists, is partof a much-publicised liberalisation drive launched by powerful Crown PrinceMohammad bin Salman as he seeks to modernise the state.

“Ten Saudi women made history on Monday when they were issued drivinglicences,” said the information ministry’s Centre for InternationalCommunication (CIC).

“Expectations are that next week an additional 2,000 women will join theranks of licensed drivers in the kingdom.”

The official Saudi Press Agency said the swap came after women applicantswere made to undergo a “practical test”, but it did not offer details.

“It’s a dream come true that I am about to drive in the kingdom,” RemaJawdat, one of the women to receive a licence, was quoted as saying by theCIC