diff --git a/setup/manifests/install_istio_1.14.sh b/setup/manifests/install_istio_1.14.sh
index 3c499e7..7ccb452 100755
--- a/setup/manifests/install_istio_1.14.sh
+++ b/setup/manifests/install_istio_1.14.sh
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ function log_red() { echo -e "${RED}$@${NC}"; }
 [[ -z "${ISTIOCTL}" ]] && log_red "Missing ISTIOCTL env var." && exit 1
 
 log_cyan "Installing Istio control plane..."
+kubectl get namespace istio-system || kubectl create ns istio-system
 ${ISTIOCTL} manifest generate --set profile=default | kubectl apply -f -
 ## wait for EnvoyFilter crd to be ready and reapply 
 sleep 60
@@ -41,4 +42,4 @@ until [[ -n $(kubectl get crd gateways.networking.istio.io -oname 2>/dev/null) ]
 until [[ -n $(kubectl get crd virtualservices.networking.istio.io -oname 2>/dev/null) ]]; do sleep 2; done
 log_cyan "Istio control plane crds are ready"
 kubectl annotate svc istio-ingressgateway cloud.google.com/neg='{"exposed_ports": {"80":{}}}' -n istio-system --overwrite
-kubectl annotate svc istio-ingressgateway anthos.cft.dev/autoneg='{"name":"istio-ingressgateway", "max_rate_per_endpoint":100}' -n istio-system --overwrite
\ No newline at end of file
+kubectl annotate svc istio-ingressgateway anthos.cft.dev/autoneg='{"name":"istio-ingressgateway", "max_rate_per_endpoint":100}' -n istio-system --overwrite