set the stage for (something)

if you set the stage for something, you make it possible or likely to happen.

The purpose of that first meeting was to set the stage for future co-operation between Russia and the USA.

• in the name of
• in the name of something
• in the neighborhood of
• in the neighborhood of something
• in the nick of time
• in the offing
• in the open
• in theory
• in the palm of hand
• in the palm of your hand
• in the picture
• in the pink
• in the pink of
• in the pink of something
• in the pipeline
• in the process of
• in the process of doing something
• in the public eye
• in the raw
• in the red
• in the right place at the right time
• in the rough
• in the running
• in the saddle
• in the same ballpark