The new British bases areas administrator and commander of the British forces in Cyprus, major general Tom Bewick, was officially sworn in at Flagstaff House in Episkopi on April 11.

Bewick, who brings with him nearly three decades of army service with deployments around the world, said he was looking forward to all that Cyprus had to offer, both on and off the bases.

“It is an honour and a privilege to assume the role of administrator of the sovereign base areas. I feel extremely lucky and very privileged to take on both roles. Cyprus is a wonderful place to be and we’ve got an important set of jobs to do,” Bewick said during the official ceremony.

“The UK’s relationship with the Republic of Cyprus has been flourishing over recent years, as paid testament by a recent historic visit by our prime minister, and I’m looking forward to helping that cooperation reach new heights.

“We live in an increasingly unstable world. Within the region, the Republic of Cyprus and UK have been playing pivotal roles to address the risks posed to ourselves and our allies,” he said.

He also said he was “really looking forward to working with all components of our community be that UK military and British Forces Cyprus personnel, the SBA administration, the high commission, The Republic of Cyprus and all of our allies and partners both here on the island and regionally.”