Aral Sea Bank's restoration projects, especially in the North Aral, were giving rise to some unexpected, tentative relief in what had been an extremely pessimistic picture. The future of the Aral Sea and the responsibility for its survival are now in the hands of the five countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. In 1994, they adopted the Aral Sea Basin Programmme. The Programme's four objectives are: The first phase of the plan effectively began with the first involvement from the World Bank in 1992, and was in operation until 1997. It was ineffectual for a number of reasons, but mainly because
Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border awarding the city to Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan however gained the large city of Shymkent. A further complication were the Karakalpaks; the Soviets were unsure if they were Uzbeks, Kazakhs or a separate nationality altogether. Given the at-best weak sense of Karakalpak nationality, and their perceived closer links to the Kazakhs, they were given their own Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast within the Kazakh ASSR. This oblast was larger than the modern autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan and extended considerably further eastwards, thereby cutting the Uzbek SSR in two, with a small exclave around Khiva. Poor economic performance in the oblast convinced Soviet leaders that