With bad news generating many of the headlines from the Middle East, it has been easy to miss the ongoing transformation of the Egyptian economy.

The Egyptian government is trying to correct this perception by inviting a range of high-level officials from both the public and private sectors to Sharm el-Shiekh for the Egypt Economic Development Conference, which began Friday. The discussions are sure to shed light on the ongoing revival of one of the largest economies in the region.

The numbers are encouraging. After another rough patch, the economy is picking up. Growth accelerated to more than 5 percent in this fiscal year's first half, which ended in December 2014. Investment, both domestic and foreign, is gradually recovering. Tourism is slowly coming back.