diff --git a/.gitlab-ci/meson/build.sh b/.gitlab-ci/meson/build.sh
index eb5b8933176..ab7f31c1d61 100755
--- a/.gitlab-ci/meson/build.sh
+++ b/.gitlab-ci/meson/build.sh
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ meson _build --native-file=native.file \
       -D prefix=`pwd`/install \
       -D libdir=lib \
       -D buildtype=${BUILDTYPE:-debug} \
-      -D build-tests=false \
+      -D build-tests=true \
       -D c_args="$(echo -n $C_ARGS)" \
       -D cpp_args="$(echo -n $CPP_ARGS)" \
       -D enable-glcpp-tests=false \