Over the past years I have introduced Kazakh companies to partners in Qatar and Saudi Arabia: joint venture talks, market entry, investment. Some of these conversations went well; others taught me more than they earned. Three lessons have stayed with me.
Sign before you introduce.
An agreement on fees and on non-circumvention is signed before the first meeting, not after it. Once the parties have met, the introducer's position is only as strong as the paper he holds.
Judge a partner by results, not by status.
In the Gulf, a name and a majlis open doors. They do not deliver contracts. Ask what the local partner has already delivered for companies like yours, and check it.
Write the exit into the first document.
The term, the measure of success and the conditions for walking away belong in the first agreement. Without them, a promising partnership can consume two years of a company's time and budget.
This is the practical side of what I said at CAWS 2026: the asset is not the deal, and neither is the introduction.
