"preliminary contacts" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
It refers to initial or introductory communication or interactions between two parties. Example: The two companies have established preliminary contacts to discuss a potential partnership.
Moreover, the Americans have recognized the need for making preliminary contacts with the Taliban that may lead to peace negotiations.
Recently, Volvo executives are said to have made preliminary contacts with several other rivals, including Renault of France, about a possible combination.
Preliminary contacts were made with British tennis officials in 2006, but Djokovic, who was concerned about optimizing his training and the difficulty of attracting sponsorship as a Serb, chose not to pursue the move further.
In the absence of any preliminary contacts between Israel and Syria or indeed between Syria and the US to agree the framework for tackling the Golan question, this is unlikely to happen.
As for the Palestinians, mayoral elections in the West Bank in 1976 brought to the fore a new leadership — loyal to Fatah and willing to act as its proxy in preliminary contacts — that might well have launched negotiations for two states after the Camp David Accords and long before 1988.
The advertising executives, unwilling to wait that long to share their information, listed two smaller agencies with which Dr Pepper/Seven Up has had some preliminary contacts: Crispin Porter & Bogusky in Miami, which creates campaigns for brands like Burger King, Ikea and Mini Cooper; and Cliff Freeman & Partners in New York, which once worked for the Coca-Cola Company.
Deutsche Telekom has also made preliminary contact with Bell Atlantic, SBC Communications and BellSouth, though none of those talks have gone beyond preliminary stages, executives close to Deutsche Telekom said.
Once you've created "warm leads" and have made preliminary contact with faraway contacts, you can solidify your connection by advancing to an in-person meeting.
Laith Kubba, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari, said that in recent months, the government had made preliminary contact with representatives of some insurgent groups.
"We've already had preliminary contact with the commissioner's office about this transaction," Michael Weiner, the director of the players union, said Wednesday.
But the fact that the chief executive of Merrill, one of the most prominent investment banks, even made preliminary contact with Wachovia underscores how much the subprime mortgage crisis has rocked Merrill.
