diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 2706b8d..33c2e26 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ from skbuild import setup
 from pathlib import Path
 
 this_directory = Path(__file__).parent
-long_description = (this_directory / "README.md").read_text()
+long_description = (this_directory / "README.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
 
 setup(
     name="llama_cpp_python",