Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov discussed with Arkady Dobkin, Chairman of the Board of Directors, CEO and President of one of the largest American technology companies EPAM Systems, issues of cooperation in the field of digitalization, IT education and development of the technological ecosystem of Kazakhstan.
During the conversation, the current trends in the development of the global technology market and the prospects for creating new joint business solutions, research initiatives, including the opening of an artificial intelligence laboratory at the National Center for Artificial Intelligence, were discussed.
EPAM Systems is a global leader in software development and consulting. Today, EPAM is represented in more than 17 cities of Kazakhstan and has about 1 thousand employees, services worth more than $40 million were exported in 2024 as part of participation in Astana Hub.
In the direction of the development of IT education, the parties stressed the importance of the EPAM Kazakhstan training center, which has trained more than 5 thousand specialists. As part of the Tech Orda program, the company has trained more than 700 students in IT skills in key areas, including Java, Python and Data Engineering. This year, 300 more students have been selected for training.
"President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has set a strategic task. Kazakhstan should become a territory of total digitalization and accelerated development of artificial intelligence. We are working in this direction. In 5 years, the volume of exports of IT services has grown from $30 million to $600 million. However, this is not enough, we have great potential. Kazakhstani specialists are talented and competitive. Cooperation with global giants will allow us to increase efficiency and ensure development at a faster pace," Olzhas Bektenov stressed.
In turn, Arkady Dobkin noted the favorable investment climate in Kazakhstan and voiced a number of proposals for further cooperation in the field of digitalization and the introduction of new technologies into the real sector of the economy.
Following the meeting, the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry was instructed to strengthen project support with the necessary assistance.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mdai/press/news/details/888577