1.  Your business development strategy in the Middle East will depend very heavily on getting the right partner on board.  That partner will bring local knowledge, business connections and if selected properly also business success.  Getting the wrong partner on your team will be easy, conversely it will require tenacity and significant effort to get the right partner on board.
2.  Tried and Tested.  Your potential partner must have evidence of being proven and be able to show that they have the market access and understanding to deliver a regular pipeline of opportunities. If you go with a partner that is untried then you may delay your success by 12 months or more, you may miss an opportunity window and could damage your reputation with customers.  Ideally the partner will bring experience in the market segment that you want to exploit.  You will then have real evidence that the partner understands the politics and has the knowledge and connections to understand the procurement and competitive environment.
3.  Bring Delivery Value Added.  A lot of partners that you are available will want to build their operations in parallel with winning business for you.  This is risky for you and your business development strategy. The most important element of your future business growth strategy in the region has to be stellar delivery of your products and services.  In the early stages when you are bedding in your new team and infrastructure you will need all the help you can get “on the ground”.  Better to select a partner that already has a proven delivery infrastructure that you know can perform and can make sure you are successful.
4.  Local with a Localisation Strategy. Your partner should come from the country that you want to win business in.  Going across borders with a partner is tough to make work and will reduce your probability of winning business.  All across the region there are initiatives to create jobs for local nationals in the private sector;  to build knowledge locally and move away from heavy reliance on the Government for employment.  Your potential partner should be pushing hard on these policies themselves and should be asking you to commit to delivering in support of these strategic initiatives.  There is a strong local talent pool that you can access to create your local team.  Don’t settle for second best.  In the initial stages of deploying a team you can look at sharing existing partner staff. Also creates trust in the relationship early.
5.  Friendly. The partner relationship, even from the outset, should feel like a friendship.  Your team should also feel that at each level friendly relationships are being created between your team and your potential partner.  This is one of the key indicators that this will be a successful partner and you should decide to invest.  Good relationships are key to business success.  If it feels strained and hard work then also evaluate and look to move on.

Building a strategic relationship with the right partner is the most challenging and important aspect of building a business in the region. Getting it wrong is easy and wastes time and resources and may drive you to think that the region is not for you.