Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff said Thursday that the government has a strategy to ensure the growth of the Brazilian economy in 2016.

"We all know we are going through difficulties. We had a very challenging 2015 and now we are aiming to make 2016 into a year to resume growth, and we have a strategy for doing so," Rousseff said.

Facing the recession with decreasing industry output as well as increasing inflation and basic interest rates, the government will seek the expansion of private and public investments, with priority given to ports, airports and railways in the plan, she added.

The president suggested the new Council for Economic and Social Development gather representatives from sectors such as industry, trade unions and civil society to come up with solutions for Brazil's economic woes.

"In a crisis, you can direct all your efforts to overcome challenges and find new paths and new ways to face your problems," Rousseff said. "In this aspect, a crisis is not something that can be wasted."